Emergence of the Global Armenian in Nineteenth-Century Istanbul

This dissertation traces the origin and evolution of the "global Armenian" in the Ottoman Empire focusing upon the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Particular attention is directed to the reign of Abdülhamid II (r. 1876 – 1909) and Armenian newspapers printed in Istanbul during the last decade of his reign and its immediate aftermath, after which time Armenians and the Armenian newspapers of Istanbul disappeared in the wake of the First World War. Armenian newspapers of the nineteenth and early twentieth century were inexpensive reservoirs of both entertainment and information, incorporating serialized fiction, popular science and technology, useful advertisements, and mercantile rates and schedules. Some of the significant men and women of Armenian belles-lettres contributed to the newspapers. Themes of literacy, education, feminism, and modernity are discussed at length both from the viewpoint of contemporary visitors and residents as well as from the editorial boards of the Armenian newspapers of Istanbul.