In the case of genocide education, deepening students’ understanding of a culture allows them to engage more fully with the extent of the damage and long-term consequences of genocide beyond the number of deaths. In the case of the Armenian Genocide, the loss of lives, lands, and national and cultural institutions was accompanied by the real threat of the extinction of languages, national and religious traditions, professional expertise, and methods that had been passed down for centuries.

Survivors of the genocide, now dispersed throughout the world, placed great emphasis on preserving their culture as a means of resisting genocide. Students will explore the significance of traditional Armenian dolls, “dignik” (pronounced “deegneeg”), in terms of their personal, historical, and cultural meaning, as well as the concepts of cultural preservation and resistance, promoting empathy and cultural awareness, especially in the context of genocide.

**Thanks to a grant through the California Teachers Collaborative for Holocaust and Genocide Education**