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Witness Reporting as Resistance and Recovery–The Swedish Missionary Alma Johansson and the 1915 Armenian Genocide

Småberg, Maria LU (2023) In British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
Abstract

Western missionaries became important eyewitnesses of the 1915 Armenian genocide, and many reported on the events. This article analyses witness reporting from a biographical and gendered perspective, taking into account the significance of studying local activism and transnational networks in a humanitarian setting. Taking the witness accounts of the Swedish missionary Alma Johansson as an example, I discuss the conditions and strategies for women to reach out and form opinions in a transnational setting. I also analyse how gender shaped the humanitarian message. Using a narrative analysis, the article further explores the dual motives of the witness accounts of Alma Johansson—the aims of public resistance and private recovery. She... (More)

Western missionaries became important eyewitnesses of the 1915 Armenian genocide, and many reported on the events. This article analyses witness reporting from a biographical and gendered perspective, taking into account the significance of studying local activism and transnational networks in a humanitarian setting. Taking the witness accounts of the Swedish missionary Alma Johansson as an example, I discuss the conditions and strategies for women to reach out and form opinions in a transnational setting. I also analyse how gender shaped the humanitarian message. Using a narrative analysis, the article further explores the dual motives of the witness accounts of Alma Johansson—the aims of public resistance and private recovery. She wanted to protest openly against the violence and the perceived silence of the world concerning the genocide, at the same time as having to work on her personal trauma. The article assumes that witness narratives can be a catalyst of change, and that these two motives, resistance and recovery, were deeply connected.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
in
British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
pages
25 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85164966745
ISSN
1353-0194
DOI
10.1080/13530194.2023.2233217
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
dcfd215e-3116-4b08-84b6-565bcc612672
date added to LUP
2023-09-25 14:16:25
date last changed
2024-01-24 08:37:47
@article{dcfd215e-3116-4b08-84b6-565bcc612672,
  abstract     = {{<p>Western missionaries became important eyewitnesses of the 1915 Armenian genocide, and many reported on the events. This article analyses witness reporting from a biographical and gendered perspective, taking into account the significance of studying local activism and transnational networks in a humanitarian setting. Taking the witness accounts of the Swedish missionary Alma Johansson as an example, I discuss the conditions and strategies for women to reach out and form opinions in a transnational setting. I also analyse how gender shaped the humanitarian message. Using a narrative analysis, the article further explores the dual motives of the witness accounts of Alma Johansson—the aims of public resistance and private recovery. She wanted to protest openly against the violence and the perceived silence of the world concerning the genocide, at the same time as having to work on her personal trauma. The article assumes that witness narratives can be a catalyst of change, and that these two motives, resistance and recovery, were deeply connected.</p>}},
  author       = {{Småberg, Maria}},
  issn         = {{1353-0194}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies}},
  title        = {{Witness Reporting as Resistance and Recovery–The Swedish Missionary Alma Johansson and the 1915 Armenian Genocide}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2023.2233217}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/13530194.2023.2233217}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}