ADVERTISING AS A FORM OF SOCIAL AND CULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN HAYKANUSH MARK’S MAGAZINE TSAGHIK (1905–1907)

Abstract

The Armenian press of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries served not only as a platform for disseminating literary, political, and social ideas, but also as an important medium for reflecting social life, economic relations, and cultural transformations. Within this context, advertising sections constitute valuable historical sources for the study of consumer culture, social perceptions, and systems of values.

This study examines the advertising section of Tzaghik (Constantinople, 1905–1907), edited by Hayganush Mark, to identify the functions of advertising as a form of social and cultural communication. The study focuses on the communicative and persuasive strategies employed in advertisements, the mechanisms through which trust and authority were constructed, and the social and cultural values conveyed through advertised goods and services.

The relevance of the study is that advertising materials have generally been treated as secondary components in the history of the Armenian press. In contrast, their analysis provides valuable insights into the consumer culture, educational perceptions, and processes of modernisation within the Armenian community of Constantinople. Particularly significant are advertisements for educational institutions, health-related services, household goods, fashion, and commercial services, which reflect contemporary perceptions of the educated woman, family life, and urban lifestyles.

The scholarly novelty of the study lies in examining the advertising section of Tzaghik as an integrated system of social and cultural communication. The study approaches advertising texts as cultural messages that construct and disseminate consumer behaviour, perceptions of social prestige, and notions of modern lifestyles. At the same time, these advertisements provide evidence of the expansion of the urban market, the circulation of new goods and services, and transformations in women’s social and educational roles.

The methodological framework combines historical-comparative, content, discourse, and structural analysis. The primary sources consist of advertisements published in Tzaghik for educational institutions, books, medical services, household products, fashion, and commercial services. The study demonstrates that the advertising section of Tzaghik should be regarded not merely as a commercial supplement, but as an important historical and cultural source for understanding the value systems, social perceptions, and processes of modernisation within the Armenian community of Constantinople at the beginning of the twentieth century.