Role: Author

Jendian provides a snapshot of the oldest Armenian community in the western United States. His work explores the processes of assimilation and ethnicity across four generations and examines forms of ethnic identity and intermarriage. He examines four subprocesses of assimilation—cultural, structural, marital, and identificational—for patterns of change ( assimilation) and persistence ( ethnicity). Findings demonstrate the co-existence of assimilation and ethnicity. He offers assimilation and the retention of ethnicity as two, somewhat independent, processes. Assimilation is not a unilinear or zero-sum phenomenon, but rather multidimensional and multidirectional. Future research must understand the forms ethnicity takes for different generations of different groups while examining patterns of change and persistence for the fourth generation and beyond.

Mary Ekmekji Atikian was born in the Middle East. She attended the Beirut College of Women, in Lebanon and graduated with a BA degree in Home Economics with a minor in Interior Decorating. Among other classes, she also took Philosophy of Religion.\
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Upon graduation she got married and moved to the United States.\
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Through the years Mary shuffled her work between her daily job, her married life and raising her two children, Donald and Debby Britton. Mary is married to Dr. Hrair Atikian. They have five adult children between them: Donald Britton, Debby Britton, Katie Atikian, Caroline O'Malley and Alison Atikian.\
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After 29 years of dedication and service to her family and work, she retired and devoted herself full time to her family. Never the less, she had a vision to make the people aware of the word of God and how it could contribute to a fuller life. So, on her spare time, she started writing a cookbook\