HAIGAZIAN UNIVERSITY
Mira Yardemian – Public Relations Director
Rue Mexique – Kantari
P.O. Box 11-1748
Riad El-Solh 1107 2090
Beirut – Lebanon
Tel: 961-1-353011
Web:
Email: [email protected]
A Joint Conference on Identity by
Yerevan State University and Haigazian University
“Armenian Identity Issues of the 21st Century” was the topic of the
joint conference held at Yerevan State University on March 13 & 14,
2013. The conference was organized by the Diaspora Chair of the
Yerevan State University and the Armenian Diaspora Research Center of
Haigazian University in collaboration with the Diaspora Ministry of
Armenia. This was the second conference that resulted from the
collaboration between the two universities of Armenia and the Diaspora
under the patronage of the Diaspora Minister Mrs. Hranoush Hagopian.
The first conference, entitled “The Armenian Republic and Diaspora
Relations: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” was held in Beirut on 5-7
September 2011 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the
proclamation of Armenian independence and the 55th anniversary of
Haigazian University. In the assessment session held after the first
conference the necessity and importance of a conference dedicated to
identity issues was raised.
Fourteen papers were presented during the March conference which
covered a broad range of issues pertaining to diverse aspects of
identity:
Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian (Theologian, and President, Haigazian
University): “Basic Factors of Identity Construction in the Cultural
and Political Context of the Diaspora”
Dr. Armenag Yeghiayan (Scholar, Western Armenian language expert):
“The 100 Year Track of the Western Armenian language and its Identity
Challenges”
Dr. Harutyun Maroutian (Institute of Ethnography, Armenian National
Academy), “Shaping Armenian Identities: The century-old Genocide
Memory”
Dr. Antranik Dakessian (Armenian Diaspora Research Center, Haigazian
University), “Armenian Family Names as Identity Symbols and their
Corruption”
Prof. Khachig Tololyan (Founder & editor of the Diaspora Journal),
“The Mystery of Identity: Variations of Armenian and Other Identities”
Dr. Edward Melkonian (Institute of History, Armenian National
Academy), “The Perception of Patriotism in the Diaspora”
Dr. Arman Yeghiazarian (Diaspora Ministry, Diaspora Chair, YSU),
“Armenian Civilization and the Armenian historic perspective”
Dr. Seyran Zakarian (Philosophy Dept., YSU), “Deserting the Fatherland
as an Expression of Identity Rejection”
Dr. Arda Ekmekji (Arts& Sciences Dean, Haigazian University), “The
Absence of the Armenian Woman from Decision Making Positions: A case
of Identity or Opportunities?”
Dr. Hamlet Bedrosian (YSU), “The Traditional Symbols of Armenian
Identity in Contemporary Form”
Maroun Salhani, MA (Lebanese media activist, blogger), “The Image of
the Lebanese Armenian in Lebanese Cultural Expressions”
Dr. Ardag Movsisian (YSU, History Dept.), Certain national-ideological
issues of Early Armenia”
Dr. Nora Arissian (Damascus State University), “The Arab Perception of
21st Century Armenian-diaspora Identity”
Dr. Tadeos Donoyan (Diaspora Chair, YSU), “Tsenov Hovan: The
acquiescence of statement and text in the Armenian language mindset”.
At the end of the two-day conference the first issue of a new yearbook
by the YSU, Spurkakidutyun: Desutyan yev Badmutyan Hartser (Diaspora
Studies: Issues of theory and history) was launched.
In a short assessment meeting that followed the event, the organizers
found the conference to be very useful and decided to plan for a
second conference on the topic of identity. The proceedings of the
conference will be jointly published in a separate book by October 2013.