Popping the “Armenian bubble” and Michael Goorjian’s “Amerikatsi”

I’ve just started classes as a junior transfer at the University of California, Berkeley, where discussions about diversity are raised constantly in and out of the classroom. The Armenian experience does not come up in these discussions from the school’s end, but these instances have given me the opportunity to think about what representation means to Armenian students and me – and young adults as a whole. 

I’m sure that this won’t be a point many disagree with, but lately I have been feeling that the Armenian Cause has been gaining more traction than usual. It could be the expertly-organized protests on freeways in Los Angeles or the work the Armenian Youth Federation puts in day in and day out. Either way, the word “Armenian” seems to have become slightly more popular. Going from this heightened attention and momentum while living in the Armenian capital of the world, Glendale, to departing for the city of Berkeley, where I assumed there would be more coffee shops than Armenian students, was a big change for me.