Armenian Studies Program, Fresno State
Artsakh: The Photographer’s Eye!
Universtiy Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium 5245 North Backer Avenue, Fresno, United Statesco-sponsored by the Armenian General Benevolent Union, Greater Fresno Chapter Since 1992, Hrair Hawk Khatcherian has been capturing the eternal images of Artsakh (Mountainous Karabakh) which he shares with his readers in this book. His travels started in 1988, with his involvement and participation in various Armenian diaspora activities related to the Karabakh Movement. Inspired… Continue reading Artsakh: The Photographer’s Eye!
The Shadows of 1915
Universtiy Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium 5245 North Backer Avenue, Fresno, United StatesIn-person and live-streamed on YouTube:https://bit.ly/armenianstudiesyoutube How long is the shadow of genocide? How does it affect the offspring of the survivors? And how do survivors and their families retain a belief in justice when atrocities go unpunished? These are some of the questions addressed in Jerry Burger’s novel, The Shadows of 1915. The story takes… Continue reading The Shadows of 1915
Dr. Dennis Papazian: Reflections on an Armenian-American Journey
Universtiy Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium 5245 North Backer Avenue, Fresno, United StatesBorn ninety years ago in the pre-WWII, pre-civil rights American South of Armenian immigrant parents from Istanbul, Turkey, Dr. Dennis Papazian reflects on a quintessentially twentieth-century American life shaped by the challenges of the immigrant experience, his family’s struggle to create a life in a new land, and his determined efforts to secure an education… Continue reading Dr. Dennis Papazian: Reflections on an Armenian-American Journey
The First Decision of the Armenian Genocide and the Role of the Kurds in Ottoman Documents
Universtiy Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium 5245 North Backer Avenue, Fresno, United StatesReception-6:00PM Presentation-7:00PM Live Streamed at https://bit.ly/armenianstudiesyoutube Based on newly available Ottoman documents, Dr. Akçam will revisit the question of the final decision to exterminate the Armenian population. He will show that the first decision to exterminate Armenians, contrary to the common belief in the field, was not taken in February-March 1915 but way early, at… Continue reading The First Decision of the Armenian Genocide and the Role of the Kurds in Ottoman Documents
Gojabashian: Blessed Hands of the Armenian Heritage
University library Fresno State 5200 N Barton Ave., Fresno, CA, United States"Gojabashian: Blessed Hands of the Armenian Heritage" Opening reception-6:00-7:00PM, Thursday, April 13 Leon S. Peters Ellipse Gallery 2nd floor, University Library The artist will be introduced at the reception. This major exhibition will be open Monday, April 10-Sunday April 30, 2023 in the Leon S. Peters Ellipse Gallery (2nd floor), University Library, Fresno State. Open… Continue reading Gojabashian: Blessed Hands of the Armenian Heritage
Discussion of the Documentary Film “Motherland” with Director Vic Gerami
Co-sponsored by CineCulture-watch "Motherland" April 7-14 (streaming). Contact the Armenian Studies Program for information how to watch the film. It took 106 years before the United States formally recognized the Armenian Genocide of 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. On April 24, 2021, President Joe Biden became the first United States president to… Continue reading Discussion of the Documentary Film “Motherland” with Director Vic Gerami
Armenian Art: Current Directions and Future Goals
Smittcamp Alumni House 2625 E Matoian Way, Fresno, CA, United StatesIn person event. Live streamed at: https://bit.ly/armenianstudiesyoutube Dr. Christina Maranci will give the inaugural lecture in the Grace and Paul Shahinian Armenian Christian Art series organized by the Armenian Studies Program. Dr. Maranci will give an overview of the study of Armenian art in the twentieth century, with an emphasis on how the discipline has… Continue reading Armenian Art: Current Directions and Future Goals
Aurora’s Sunrise-Film Screening
Leon S. & Pete Peters Educational Center, Fresno States 5010 N. Woodrow Ave., Fresno, United Statesco-sponsored by the Armenian Studies Program and CineCulture A genocide survivor becomes a silent movie star: Aurora Mardiganian's odyssey is close to unreal. After losing her family, escaping slavery, and enduring Hollywood greed. She journeys far to tell the world of the Armenian Genocide. Followed by a discussion with director Inna Sahakyan
Forbidden Homeland: Story of a Diasporan
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United StatesIn 1988, a single innocent comment made at her college in southern California leads Katia, a new immigrant, to the discovery of long-lost relatives she knew nothing about. These were descendants of her grandmother’s siblings from whom she was separated because of the Genocide. As Katia decides to find answers to questions she had struggled… Continue reading Forbidden Homeland: Story of a Diasporan
Microhistories in Armenian Studies
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United States +1 moreA two day international conference Day 1-7:00PM-University Business Center, Fresno State Keynote speaker: Dr. Hans Lukas Kieser Victoria Abrahamyan (University of Neuchâtel) "The Contested Armenian Participation in the Syrian Great Revolt, 1925-1926" Ara Sarafian (Gomidas Institute) "The Great Drought/Famine of Van and Kurdish Armenian Relations cir. 1880" Sam Dolbee (Vanderbilt University) "Hovhannes Doumanian and the… Continue reading Microhistories in Armenian Studies
Microhistories in Armenian Studies
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United States +1 moreA two day international conference Day 1-7:00PM-University Business Center, Fresno State Keynote speaker: Dr. Hans Lukas Kieser Victoria Abrahamyan (University of Neuchâtel) "The Contested Armenian Participation in the Syrian Great Revolt, 1925-1926" Ara Sarafian (Gomidas Institute) "The Great Drought/Famine of Van and Kurdish Armenian Relations cir. 1880" Sam Dolbee (Vanderbilt University) "Hovhannes Doumanian and the… Continue reading Microhistories in Armenian Studies
It Never Happened: Denial of Genocides in the Twenty-First Century
Throughout the twenty-first century, genocide denial has evolved and adapted with new strategies to augment and complement established modes of denial. In addition to outright negation, denial of genocide encompasses a range of techniques, including disputes over numbers, contestation of legal definitions, blaming the victim, and various modes of intimidation, such as threats of legal… Continue reading It Never Happened: Denial of Genocides in the Twenty-First Century
Jerusalem and the Armenians until the Ottoman Conquest (1516)
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United StatesIn the four-fold division of the Old City of Jerusalem, the Christian and the Armenian Quarters are contiguous but independent. This situation corresponds to the ancientness and the importance of the Armenian presence. Jerusalem has indeed remained a myth for Armenians since the 4th century, when Christianity was proclaimed a national religion. The relations of… Continue reading Jerusalem and the Armenians until the Ottoman Conquest (1516)
Armenia Summer Study Program 2023 : Reflections
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United StatesProfessor Barlow Der Mugrdechian led a group of eleven students on the Armenia Summer Study Program, May 23-June 8, 2023. While in Armenia students visited the major cultural and religious sites in Armenia, including a visit to Holy Etchmiadzin. They visited the Armenian Genocide Monument-Institute and the Armenian Genocide Museum. A visit to Mer Hooys-House… Continue reading Armenia Summer Study Program 2023 : Reflections
Echoes of Kef Time
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United StatesSynopsis of the Film: Richard Hagopian, a legendary Armenian-American musician, pioneered one of the most fruitful genres of Armenian cultural folk music and the joyous, dance-filled events that his band was notorious for holding: Kef Time. But times change, and the once sold-out shows faded into history. Echoes of Kef Time dives into Richard’s quest… Continue reading Echoes of Kef Time
Armenian Manuscript Painting: The Early Tradition
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United Statescant areas of early Armenian Christian Art. Although the Armenian alphabet was created in the 5 c. AD, the earliest surviving illustrated/painted manuscripts date only from the 9th c. AD. These 9th century manuscripts, such as the Etchmiadzin Gospel and the Queen Mlk'e Gospel give us insight into the early tradition of Armenian Manuscript painting.… Continue reading Armenian Manuscript Painting: The Early Tradition
In Front of the Eyes of the World: The Memoirs of Setrak Timourian
Virtual-Online , United StatesIn Front of the Eyes of the World: The Memoirs of Setrak Timourian gives the reader a fascinating and detailed story of the life of Setrak Timourian, who was born in 1860 in Kayseri. He documented in a thorough manner, his life, the life of his family, and his many adventures. Timourian lived during an… Continue reading In Front of the Eyes of the World: The Memoirs of Setrak Timourian
Heritage in Peril: Safeguarding Artsakh’s Cultural Monuments in the Aftermath of Invasion
zoomZoom-Virtual Presentation The last Armenian prayer in Artsakh was held at Dadivank on October 1, 2023, following Azerbaijan’s invasion and ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh. What happens to the monuments that Armenians had to leave behind? What can stakeholders do to prevent the scenario of Nakhichevan, where in 1997-2006 Azerbaijan eradicated the entire known inventory… Continue reading Heritage in Peril: Safeguarding Artsakh’s Cultural Monuments in the Aftermath of Invasion
Eradicating Cultures, Erasing Lives: Children and the Armenian and Native American Genocides
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United StatesIn this talk, Keith David Watenpaugh, Professor and Director at UC Davis Human Rights Studies, draws the genocide of the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire into the comparative study of indigenous genocide. He focuses on the erasure of indigenous children's identity by state authorities through boarding schools to argue that the ideology and practice of… Continue reading Eradicating Cultures, Erasing Lives: Children and the Armenian and Native American Genocides
“Armenians in Film” : 6 Short Films by Armenian Filmmakers
Leon S. & Pete Peters Educational Center, Fresno States 5010 N. Woodrow Ave., Fresno, United StatesThis event will begin at 5:30 PM with a screening of 6 short films followed by a virtual discussion with the directors at 6:45 PM.
Outcasting Armenians: Tanzimat of the Provinces
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United StatesThis lecture will discuss the Ottoman Tanzimat era through the lenses of the Armenian Patriarchate Archives along with the Ottoman Archives. It will argue that while Tanzimat has long been portrayed as a progressive period that granted rights to all peoples of the empire, in fact it set the mold for policies of oppression which… Continue reading Outcasting Armenians: Tanzimat of the Provinces
“Armenian Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future” by Dr. Bedross Der Matossian
Smittcamp Alumni House 2625 E Matoian Way, Fresno, CA, United StatesArmenian Jerusalem today is facing major challenges that could be detrimental to its future. This talk will analyze the historical background of the formation of the modern Armenian community in Jerusalem and will examine the impact of political and socioeconomic transformations of the volatile region on the Armenian Patriarchate, as well as the community. It… Continue reading “Armenian Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future” by Dr. Bedross Der Matossian
“Western Armenian Music: An Artist’s Perspective” by Hachig Kazarian
Virtual-Online , United StatesSilenced for over one hundred years, the Western Armenian music brought to America by the first Armenian immigrants has become an integral part of Armenian culture in the United States. Artist and musician Hachig Kazarian, author of Western Armenian Music: From Asia Minor to the United States (Armenian Series, 2023), will examine the many facets… Continue reading “Western Armenian Music: An Artist’s Perspective” by Hachig Kazarian
Tigran Hamasyan – “The Call Within Tour”
The Concert Hall at California State University, Fresno 2380 E. Keats Avenue, Fresno, CA, United StatesTigran Hamasyan with Evan Marien (bass) and Arthur Hnatek (drums) "He's the hottest pianist in jazz, and he likes to mix things up, whether it's bebop, thrash metal, or dubstep. But his heart is in the folk music of his native land, Armenia" - The Guardian, London "A-may-zing! Now, Tigran, you are my teacher!" -… Continue reading Tigran Hamasyan – “The Call Within Tour”
“Armenian Memory, Writing Across Borders: A Reading and Talk” with Pulitzer Prize winning poet Peter Balakian
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United StatesBalakian will read and discuss his poetry and prose with a focus on Armenian historical and cultural memory and disaporan imagination. In his many books of poems and his memoir Black Dog of Fate, Balakian has explored-in his distinct poetic form and elliptical language-traumatic intergenerational memory of the Armenian Genocide, as well as the power… Continue reading “Armenian Memory, Writing Across Borders: A Reading and Talk” with Pulitzer Prize winning poet Peter Balakian
“Remnants: Emodied Archives of the Armenian Genocide” by Dr. Elyse Semerdjian
Smittcamp Alumni House 2625 E Matoian Way, Fresno, CA, United StatesThis exploration of the Armenian genocide is told through the traces left in the memories and on the bodies of its women survivors. Foremost among the images of the Armenian Genocide is the specter of tattooed Islamized Armenian women. Blue tribal tattoos that covered face and body signified assimilation into Muslim Bedouin and Kurdish households.… Continue reading “Remnants: Emodied Archives of the Armenian Genocide” by Dr. Elyse Semerdjian
“Amerikatsi”
Leon S. & Pete Peters Educational Center, Fresno States 5010 N. Woodrow Ave., Fresno, United States"Amerikatsi" film screening following a discussion with the director, Michael Goorjian. Amerikatsi is a film of tremendous spirit and hope, Amerikatsi follows Charlie as he returns to his Armenian homeland and finds a country under Soviet rule. After being unjustly imprisoned, he soon discovers he can see into a nearby apartment from his cell window.… Continue reading “Amerikatsi”
An evening with Ken Khachigian
Fresno State, Satellite Student Union 2485 E San Ramon Ave, Fresno, CA, United StatesKen Khachigian, trusted advisor and confidant to Presidents Nixon and Reagan, will discuss his new book, "Behind Closed Doors: In the Room with Reagan & Nixon."
Strangers in a Promised Land – Remastered
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United States“Strangers in a Promised Land” is the story of the Fresno Armenian community over a hundred-year period. This newly remastered film from the original 16mm print, depicts the universal experience of immigration, the overcoming of adversity, discrimination and the achievement of success by Fresno Armenians. Narrated by Governor George Deukmejian, the film tells the story… Continue reading Strangers in a Promised Land – Remastered
“The Past of the Past: Armenian Heritage in Ottoman and Republican Turkey”
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United StatesThe presentation will address the Ottoman Empire’s and the pre-Erdogan Turkish Republic’s approaches to Armenian cultural heritage as reflective of broader policies towards Armenians, highlighting a mixed record of destruction, dispossession, and accommodation. It will dissect the securitization of and subsequent state-sanctioned heritage crime against religious-cultural sites starting in the 19th century, policies that escalated… Continue reading “The Past of the Past: Armenian Heritage in Ottoman and Republican Turkey”
Armenians in Film at Fresno State
Leon S. & Pete Peters Educational Center, Fresno States 5010 N. Woodrow Ave., Fresno, United StatesThe AGBU Greater Fresno Chapter, AGBU Arts, the Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State, and CineCulture are pleased to present 6 short films by award winning Armenian filmmakers at the Peters Education Center Auditorium (West of the Save-Mart Center in the Student Recreation Center Building). Following this free screening, audiences will be able to participate… Continue reading Armenians in Film at Fresno State
Armenians in Film: 6 Short Films by Armenian Filmmakers
Leon S. & Pete Peters Educational Center, Fresno States 5010 N. Woodrow Ave., Fresno, United States5:30 PM - Screening of Films 6:45 PM - Virtual discussion with Directors Film program - https://cineculture.csufresno.edu/
“The Present of the Past: The State of Armenian Heritage in Turkey” by Dr. Simon Maghakyan
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United StatesThe lecture will address the official and unofficial treatment of Armenian heritage sites — active and “abandoned” alike — in Turkey since the early 2000s, tracking the transformation of Erdogan’s history-related politics, and exploring the ongoing mass looting of Armenian properties. Seeking preservation prospects, the lecture will assess the agency of state and non-state stakeholders… Continue reading “The Present of the Past: The State of Armenian Heritage in Turkey” by Dr. Simon Maghakyan
“The Portrayal of Women in Early Armenian Literature” by Dr. David Zakarian
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United StatesThe richness of native literary texts and translations produced by the Armenians in the fifth century CE prompted the Mekhitarist fathers to characterize that century as the “Golden Age” of Armenian literature. This lecture explores the portrayal of women in the most influential texts from this period, evaluating how they present women’s roles within the… Continue reading “The Portrayal of Women in Early Armenian Literature” by Dr. David Zakarian
“Ottoman Passports: Security and Geographic Mobility, 1876-1908” by Dr. İlkay Yılmaz
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United Statesİlkay Yılmaz reconsiders the history of two political issues, the Armenian and Macedonian questions, approaching both through the lens of mobility restrictions during the late Ottoman Empire from 1876 to 1908 in her book Ottoman Passports. Yılmaz investigates how Ottoman security perceptions and travel regulations were directly linked to transnational security regimes battling against anarchism.… Continue reading “Ottoman Passports: Security and Geographic Mobility, 1876-1908” by Dr. İlkay Yılmaz
“The Future of the Past: Pathways for Saving Armenian Vestiges in Turkey” by Dr. Simon Maghakyan
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United StatesThe lecture will identify and assess domestic, interstate, and international opportunities and challenges for preserving Armenian heritage remnants in the Turkish Republic. It will then discuss three scenarios, detailing the agencies of key stakeholders, for the future of Turkey’s Armenian material past, making the case that a total erasure of all traces of Armenian heritage… Continue reading “The Future of the Past: Pathways for Saving Armenian Vestiges in Turkey” by Dr. Simon Maghakyan
“Khatchkars: Emblematic Art of Armenians” by Hrair Hawk Khatcherian
University Business Center 5245 N. Backer Ave., Fresno State, United StatesAmong the creations of Armenian artistic genius, which gives this nation an important place in art's universal history, the khatchkar (khatch=cross; kar=stone) is probably the most iconic example of this in Armenia. Hrair Hawk Khatcherian was born in Lebanon in 1961. In 1982 he earned his wings as a commercial pilot in Hayward California. He… Continue reading “Khatchkars: Emblematic Art of Armenians” by Hrair Hawk Khatcherian