E174 | The late 19th century was a time of intellectual and cultural flourishing for the Armenian community in Constantinople, as a new generation of Armenian thinkers traveled to Europe to study, debated new ideas in the press, and settled on a new vernacular for their literary endeavors. Zabel Yessayan was one of the most important female figures of this generation, publishing articles on subjects including educational reform, art and aesthetics, and the question of women. In this podcast, Jennifer Manoukian discusses her new translation of Yessayan's memoir, The Gardens of Silihdar, and explores questions of women, gender, and politics in Yessayan's work.

Jennifer Manoukian is a translator of Western Armenian literature. She has an MA in Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies from Columbia University. The Gardens of Silihdar by Zabel Yessayan, was released by AIWA Press in 2014.

Susanna Ferguson is a PhD student in Middle Eastern History at Columbia University, where she focuses on the history of women and gender in the Arab world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

More at: http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2014/09/zabel-yessayan.html