The aim of this article is to examine the educational activities of the missionary organization “American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions” (ABCFM) among the Armenian community of the Ottoman Empire from the perspective of Women’s Studies. The central issue of the study is the analysis of the educational curricula and teaching methods employed in girls’ schools and educational centers established by the Armenian Apostolic and Protestant Churches, with a focus on identifying parallels and contrasts based on religious characteristics, social customs of the time, national mindset, and differences in educational models. The article also explores, as a separate issue, the role of female missionaries and the activities of the Women’s Board within the ABCFM. The research is interdisciplinary, combining the fields of Religious Studies, History, and Pedagogy, and employs historical-comparative, contrastive, analytical, and graphic-semantic methods.
Key words: Ottoman Empire, American missionaries, Armenian Apostolic Millet, Armenian Protestant Millet, American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, female education
DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662-2026-1-15-23
About the authors
 |
Astghik V. Soghoyan – PhD (Philology), Researcher at the Institute of Literature after M. Abeghyan, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia; 15 Grigor Lusavorich, Yerevan, 0015, Republic of Armenia; Lecturer at the Chair of Armenian Literature and the Literary Theory n.a. Academician H. Tamrazyan, Yerevan State University; 1 Alex Manoogian St., Yerevan, 0025, Republic of Armenia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0976-9954
|
 |
Astghik G. Shmavonyan – Master’s student (Philology), Faculty of European Languages and Communication, Yerevan State University; 1 Alex Manoogian St., Yerevan, 0025, Republic of Armenia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5951-3607 |
 |
Naira V. Hambardzumyan – PhD (Philology), Associate Professor, Leading Researcher at the Institute of Literature n.a. M. Abeghyan, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia; 15 Grigor Lusavorich, Yerevan, 0015, Republic of Armenia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2792-8891, |
 |
Albert A. Kharatyan – Doctor of History, Professor, Correspondent Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia; Head of the Department of Armenian Periodicals and Public Mind, Institute of History, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia; Еditor-in-chief of the International Scientific Journal “Bulletin of Armenian Studies” of NAS of RA; 24/4, Marshall Baghramyan Ave., Yerevan, 0019, Republic of Armenia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8322-3307 |