PRESS RELEASE
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research
395 Concord Ave.
Belmont, MA 02489
Phone: 617-489-1610
E-mail: [email protected]
Contact: Marc A. Mamigonian
NAASR LECTURE ON PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS
OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AT NAASR
As part of its efforts to mark the 90th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research
(NAASR) will present a lecture by psychiatrist Dr. Levon Z. Boyajian
entitled ~SThe Land That Is No More: Extinction, Survival, and Armenian
Identity~T on Thursday, March 17, at 8:00 p.m., at the NAASR Center,
395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA.
consequences of the Armenian Genocide and its physical and
psychological aftereffects, one under-analyzed aspect is that
extinction of the Armenians took place in their homeland of several
millennia ~V that is, the area known as Western Armenia or the Eastern
Anatolian provinces of the Ottoman Empire.
Link To Ancient Homeland Severed
The survivors of the Genocide were the last to know their ancestral
land and were faced with the crushing truth that there was no going
back to their homeland or yergir. The thread of continuity had been
severed permanently. For those who could not deal with this truth
there remained only empty hopes and dreams to assuage the pain of loss.
For the descendants of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide the
homeland is mostly a fantasy that we know through our parents and
grandparents. To those born in new lands the names of the Old Country
cities themselves are magical ~V Zeitun, Kharpert, Van, Moush, Marash,
Erzerum, and many more. How does one come to terms with a recent past
that has already entered the realm of myth?
Dr. Levon Z. Boyajian is a first-generation Armenian-American who
grew up in Washington Heights in New York City. He is a psychiatrist
who has pioneered the study of the effects of the Armenian Genocide on
subsequent generations in the seminal study ~SPsychosocial Sequelae of
the Armenian Genocide~T (with Haigaz Grigorian). He is also the author
of Hayots Badeevuh: Reminiscences of Armenian Life in New York City.
The NAASR Bookstore will open at 7:30 p.m. The NAASR Center and
Headquarters is located opposite the First Armenian Church and next to
the U.S. Post Office. Ample parking is available around the building
and in adjacent areas. The lecture will begin promptly at 8:00 p.m.