February 2, 2015

PRESS RELEASE
Institute of Armenian Studies
Salpi Ghazarian, Director
University of Southern California
Taper Hall of Humanities, Suite 252
Los Angeles, California 90089-4015
Tel: 213-821-3943
Email: Armenian@usc.edu

THE “HALF-IMMIGRANT”: IN BETWEEN CALIFORNIA’S GENERATIONS

Richard Hovannisian, Adjunct Professor of History at USC Dornsife
College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and Professor Emeritus of
Armenian and Near Eastern History at UCLA, spoke about his life as a
“Half-Immigrant” as part of the University of Southern California
Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies luncheon talks on Wednesday,
January 28, 2015.

At the invitation of the Institute, Professor Hovannisian, a
recognized scholar of the early 20th century, including the genocidal
years, and the first Republic of Armenia, diverged from his field of
study, to talk with USC History Department Chair Professor Bill
Deverell about his own life and memories as the US-born child of new
immigrants. He spoke about growing up in the San Joaquin Valley,
living within and taking for granted the community of immigrants who
were able to re-create their agrarian lifestyle. He remembered growing
up Armenian at home, and trying to fit into the majority culture at
school.

Professor Hovannisian reminisced about several decades of the Armenian
community’s integration into California society – from the days of
discrimination against Armenians in Fresno, to becoming a large ethnic
community in Southern California, years later.

Running through Professor Hovannisian’s memories was the subtext of
the impact of dislocation, deportation, genocide and survival on a
minority community. The man who was the first to engage in gathering
oral testimonies of genocide survivors remembers that first generation
speaking little about their memories and experiences – either not to
want to burden or driven by an assumption that no one cared.

He referred to his grandson, Garin Hovannisian’s recounting of the
story of his family. Family of Shadows traces three generations of
Hovannisians in California – and Armenia.

This was the fourth luncheon talk in this academic year. Previous
speakers included Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of Haigazian
University, Dr. Fatma Müge Göçek of the University of Michigan and
Harout Ekmanian, a Syrian-Armenian journalist.

The event can be viewed at:

Link to a USC article about this event:

About the Institute Established in 2005, the USC Institute of Armenian
Studies supports multidisciplinary scholarship to re-define, explore
and study the complex issues that make up the contemporary Armenian
experience – from post-Genocide to the developing Republic of Armenia
to the evolving Diaspora. The institute encourages research,
publications and public service, and benefits from communication
technologies that link together the global academic and Armenian
communities.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress