Armenian Studies Program
Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Coordinator
5245 N. Backer Ave. PB4
Fresno CA 93740-8001
ASP Office: 559-278-2669
Office: 559-278-2669
FAX: 559-278-2129
ASP Website:
Photos: SAS 40th Anniversary Workshop in Yerevan
40th Anniversary Workshop of the Society for Armenian Studies in Yerevan:
A Pioneering Effort with a Promising Future
By Vartan Matiossian
On its fortieth anniversary, the Society for Armenian Studies (SAS)
organized an unprecedented workshop from October 3-5, 2014 at the
presidential hall of sessions of the National Academy of Sciences of
Armenia, with forty-two scholars from Armenia and abroad who delivered
papers in English or in Armenian. `Many of the presentations and
discussions were indeed fascinating and thought-provoking,’ noted
Nareg Seferian, while Jennifer Manoukian remarked: `The most positive
aspect of the conference was without a doubt getting the chance to
mingle with scholars working on similar topics. Hearing about projects
in the works and sharing resources to facilitate these projects would
have been difficult to do without the face-to-face interaction that
the conference provided.’ Many participants expressed the hope that
this workshop will become a regular feature.
One of its purposes was to promote the participation of fresh names in
the field; most presenters belonged to the young and middle
generation, a feature that was very much appreciated: `The conference
was a success no matter how you look at it because of the very high
quality of the papers including or especially those given by young
scholars from Armenia. The symbiotic relationship that in some cases
developed over the three days between scholars from the Diaspora and
those living in Armenia was pleasant to watch,’ observed Dickran
Kouymjian, one of the founding members of the SAS.
Travel and lodging expenses for the participants hailing from the
United States, France, Italy, Germany, Turkey, the Netherlands, and
the United Kingdom, were covered through the sponsorship of the
Armenian Communities Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation,
as well as the support of the Ajemian Foundation and the George
Ignatius Foundation.
The workshop opened on October 3 in the morning with the presence of
several official guests. After introductory words by SAS President
Kevork Bardakjian (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor), congratulatory
speeches were delivered by Academician Radik Martirosyan, President of
the National Academy of Sciences; Dr. Hranush Hakobyan, Diaspora
Minister; Professor Aram Simonyan, Rector of Yerevan State University;
and Academician Yuri Suvaryan, head of the Department of Armenology
and Social Studies of the Academy of Sciences.
The first panel, about medieval times, was chaired by Kevork
Bardakjian. Andrea Scala (University of Milan) focused on the often
neglected role of the Syriac sources in the Armenian Bible, with an
analysis of linguistic and philological evidence offering useful clues
for a better understanding of textual layers. Khachik Harutyunyan
(Matenadaran) spoke on the role of phonetic change in the formation of
personal names found in the colophons of Armenian manuscripts dating
from 5 th -15th centuries. Tamar Boyadjian (Michigan State University)
discussed the little consideration given to Armenian sources in the
study of the Crusades, due to the `European’ perspective of many
authors. Arshak Balayan (Yerevan State University) discussed Grigor
Tatevatsi’s polemics with Islam and his list of 16 errors, noting his
Bible-based view of the issue, without any reference to an Islamic
theologian or the Koran. Hrach Martirosyan (Leiden University)
presented a philological study of some enigmatic words and passages
found in a poem by the seventeenth-century author Khachgruz.
The first afternoon panel on the Early Modern period was chaired by
Ara Sanjian (University of Michigan, Dearborn). Peter Cowe (University
of California, Los Angeles), reviewed four approaches of the Armenian
nationalist project during the period (aristocratic initiative, Simeon
Erevantsi’s theocracy, Mekhitarist linguistic and cultural project,
and the Madras group) and assessed their viability and
effectiveness. Gayane Ayvazyan (Matenadaran) presented an overview of
the works of Eremia Keomurjian, a prolific author of the seventeenth
century, who also wrote in Turkish to reach Turkish-speaking
Armenians. Susanna Khachatryan (Yerevan State University) discussed
the formative period of the `amira’ class in Constantinople. In the
second session, chaired by Kevork Bardakjian, Alyson Wharton (Artuklu
University of Mardin, Turkey), presented a reconstruction of Armenian
presence in Mardin, hitherto scarcely recognized in Turkish narratives
of the city, with a special emphasis on the work of chief architect
Serkis Elyas Lole. Beatrice Tolidjian (Washington D.C.) followed with
an exploration of several Armenian churches and monuments from
Bulgaria in the seventeenth century, and their relation to earlier
architectonical works in Armenia proper. David Leupold (Humboldt
University, Berlin) discussed the case of Armeno-Turkish as part of
language plurality, particularly in Cilicia and Aleppo, which opened a
channel to the West for 19 th century Ottoman elites in
Constantinople, Armenian and non-Armenian. Dickran Kouymjian
(California State University, Fresno, Emeritus, residing in Paris)
spoke about the innovative role of Grigor Marzvanetsi, an Armenian
printer of the early eighteenth century, whose book-illustrations were
taken from Armenian iconography rather than Dutch or Flemish
models. Nareg Seferian (American University of Armenia) made a
comparative study of the American Constitution and the texts produced
by the Madras group, as the first modern examples in Armenian reality.
The first panel of October 4, chaired by Barlow Der Mugrdechian
(California State University, Fresno), centered on the Armenian
genocide. Rouben Adalian (Armenian National Institute, Washington
D.C.) discussed ways to amplify the use of photographs to document the
genocide. Hazel Antaramian-Hofman (Fresno City College) made a visual
analysis of the Near East Relief posters for its fundraising efforts,
which included the first American illustrations of Armenian
survivors. Jennifer Manoukian (Columbia University) discussed the
educational dimension of the efforts towards social and cultural
revival by Ottoman Armenians during 1918-1922. Ari Shekerian (Bogazici
University, Istanbul) focused on the reports in the daily Jamanak of
Constantinople from 1918-1919, depicting the mood of orphans and
survivors.
In the second panel (Dickran Kouymjian, chair), Hayk Hambardzumyan
(Yerevan State University) outlined an overview of the latest studies
of the Armenian epic David of Sassoun, with reference to the use of
comparative mythology, structuralism, and semiotics. Simon Payaslian
(Boston University) discussed three models of intellectuals (heroic,
elitist, and civil enabler) and their manifestations in the Diaspora,
from cultural preservation to cultural congruence, as exemplified in
the Armenian American community. Sona Mnatsakanyan (State Engineering
University of Armenia) analyzed the recent polemics in Istanbul as to
whether the local Armenian community formed part of the Diaspora, in
the light of three factors: dispersion, ethno-cultural continuity, and
relation with the homeland. Mehmet Uslu (Istanbul Sehir University)
presented an overview of the recent trend of rediscovery of Armenian
literature in Turkey through translations into Turkish of various
masterpieces and scholarly works in Armenian.
Vartan Matiossian (Armenian National Education Committee, New York)
chaired the first afternoon panel, devoted to Diasporan
literature. Talar Chahinian (California State University, Long Beach)
spoke on the impact of the emergent nation-state on the Western
Armenian imaginary, with the second congress of Soviet Armenian
writers (1946) as an example of cultural essentialism hindering the
development of a Diaspora based on diversity. Hagop Gulludjian
(University of California, Los Angeles) analyzed the poetry of
Nigoghos Sarafian as the writer who deconstructed the past and opened
a new beginning towards a liminal position that characterizes
Diasporan identity. Krikor Moskofian (London) focused on the
utilitarian approach in Western Armenian literature and its
manifestations during the first quarter of the twentieth
century. Lilit Keshishyan (University of California, Los Angeles)
studied the representations of Armenia in works by four Diasporan
authors: Hakob Karapents, Vahe Oshagan, Vahe Berberian, and Khoren
Aramuni.
Myrna Douzjian (Temple University) chaired the second panel about
literature of Armenia. Alvard Semirjian-Bekmezyan (Yerevan State
University) spoke on the generic features of contemporary fairy tales
and noted their disintegration in contemporary works of the
genre. Vahram Danielyan (Yerevan State University) offered a new
reading of Khachatur Abovian’s Wounds of Armenia and distinguished
various features, such as the language turnaround from the canonical
(Classical Armenian) to the non-canonical (dialectal language) and the
debate on typology of the novel. Mery Khachatryan (National Agrarian
University of Armenia) reviewed the theme of genocide in Soviet
autobiographical novels of the 1920s-1950s in the works of Gurgen
Mahari and Vahan Totoventz and in minor works by several writers in
post-WWII period. Hasmik Khechikyan (`Cultural Society’ NGO) analyzed
the narrative of the independence period and noted that the modernism
of the 1980s was followed by the post-modernism of the 1990s, which
rejected all values, echoing the social shock that followed the
collapse of the Soviet Union. Arqmenik Nikoghosian (Institute of
Literature, National Academy of Sciences) spoke about the development
of the historical novel in the post-Soviet period and particularly in
the mid-nineties, when several historical novels appeared as a
reflection of the restoration of independent statehood.
Three panels were featured on Sunday. The first morning panel (chair,
Kevork Bardakjian) was devoted to the genocide and cultural
manifestations. Myrna Douzjian spoke on its representation in film,
with particular reference to Serge Avedikian’s `Barking Island’ (2010)
and its allegorical and metaphorical depiction of the Genocide. Barlow
Der Mugrdechian followed with the reflection of the genocide in
Armenian American literature,in works by Leon Srabian Herald, Emmanuel
Varandyan, William Saroyan, Leon Surmelian, David Kherdian, Peter
Najarian, and others. Marine Hovakimyan (Yerevan State University)
discussed expressionism in genocide-related works of four Diasporan
artists: Gerardo Orakian, Khoren Der Harootian, Arshile Gorky, and
Siroon Yeretzian. Davit Kertmenjian (Institute of Art, National
Academy of Sciences) spoke on the main features of genocide memorials
in contemporary architecture, both in Armenia and the Diaspora. In the
second panel, chaired by Dickran Kouymjian, Sona Haroutyunyan
(University of Venice, Italy) charted the process of development in
genocide awareness and focused on Antonia Arslan’s novel Skylark Farm
and its cinematographic version. Alina Pogosyan (Institute of
Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences) discussed
the phenomenon of transculturality with regard to Armenian migrants
and the divergence between official discourse and reality.
The afternoon panel, chaired by Harutyun Marutyan (Institute of
Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences), included
papers about current issues. Garik Lazarian (Institute of
Linguistics, National Academy of Sciences) discussed the impact of the
Genocide as cause for disappearance of the territorial foundations of
Armenian dialects and the extinction of most Western Armenian
dialects. Suren Zolyan (Institute of Philosophy and Law, National
Academy of Sciences) presented a study of discursive strategies in
genocide recognition with a deconstruction and analysis of President
Barack Obama’s statements. Matthew Ghazarian (Columbia University)
spoke about the need to contextualize the catastrophe of 1915 in terms
of comparing the extermination of Armenians and their purported
`rebellion’ with the cases of other Ottoman peoples. Ara Sanjian
analyzed the changing patterns of electoral alliances of Armenian
parties in Lebanese politics and their current position in the
political scene of the country. Hratch Tchilingirian (Oxford
University) focused on the process of secularization in the Armenian
Church, distinguishing three levels in the past 150 years:
state-imposed secularization and laicization; societal secularization;
and self-secularization. Hamazasp Danielyan (Yerevan State University)
outlined Armenia-Diaspora relations after the second independence, and
characterized their present state as one of weakness, motivated by
disillusion in the Diaspora, whose current agenda is focused on its
own problems.
Professor Bardakjian closed the workshop and announced that the papers
will be published in the near future. In the evening, a closing
banquet was held for all presenters and invited guests, which became
another opportunity to deepen links and networking, something which is
always a need in the burgeoning world of Armenian Studies.
The Society of Armenian Studies is composed of scholars and students
(and some non-scholarly patrons) of Armenian Studies). Its membership
is international, although the majority of members are based in the
United States and Canada.
The aims of the Society for Armenian Studies are to promote the study
of Armenian culture and society, including history, language,
literature, and social, political, and economic questions; to
facilitate the exchange of scholarly information pertaining to
Armenian studies around the world; and to sponsor panels and
conferences on Armenian studies.
The Secretariat of the Society is located at the Armenian Studies
Program, 5245 N. Backer Ave. PB4, Fresno, CA 93740-8001. Email:
[email protected]. The website of the SAS is at
societyforarmenianstudies.com.
http://www.fresnostate.edu/artshum/armenianstudies/