PRESS RELEASE
UCLA AEF Chair in Armenian History
Contact: Prof. Richard Hovannisian
Tel: 310-825-3375
Email: [email protected]
Dr. George Kooshian, Visiting Movel Professor at UCLA
UCLA–Dr. George B. Kooshian, Jr. has been appointed as Visiting
Movel Professor at UCLA for the Spring Quarter. A specialist on
Armenian immigration, Dr. Kooshian will teach a course on the history
of the Armenian community in California from its earliest settlers to
the present. Professor Richard Hovannisian, AEF Chair in Modern
Armenian History at UCLA, stated: “The Armenian community of
California has a rich and colorful history, which unfortunately
remains virtually unknown to great waves of recent Armenian
immigrants. The course Dr. Kooshian has been invited to teach will
certainly help to fill this void.”
George Kooshian was born and reared Pasadena, California, attended
Pasadena public schools and Pasadena City College. He graduated from
Seattle Pacific College with a degree in Latin. After two years in
the Army, he entered graduate school at UCLA and received an M.A. in
Linguistics and a Certificate in the teaching of English as a Second
Language. Dr. Kooshian then entered the Armenian History program and
studied under Professor Hovannisian. He was granted the Ph.D. in
2002. His interest in the American-Armenian community of his birth led
him to write his dissertation on “The Armenian Immigrant Community of
California, 1880–1935.” This work was based primarily on original
accounts in California Armenian-language newspapers and other sources.
For many years Dr. Kooshian has taught English as a Second Language,
American History and Government, Citizenship, and other subjects to
adults in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He has also taught
at the University of La Verne and the American Armenian International
College, and has served as a teaching assistant at UCLA. He recently
delivered papers on the history of the Armenian immigrant community of
Pasadena in New York and San Francisco and is currently preparing the
stirring autobiography of his father for publication. Dr. Kooshian is
a member of the Society for Armenian Studies, the Middle East Studies
Association, and the National Education Association. He has been
active as a volunteer in the Pasadena Unified School District and in
the Armenian Church, where he has served as a teacher, clerk, and
lector.
In announcing the appointment, Dr. Hovannisian stated: “I am deeply
gratified to Nora and the late Bob Movel for establishing the Movel
Fund at UCLA to support the Armenian Studies program through
fellowships and post-doctoral lectureships. The Fund allows us to
bring innovative courses and special events to campus and to assist
promising graduate students.”
Dr. Kooshian has placed information about the course on the Internet
at <;, together with the
course syllabus and many readings available for download, including
the complete text of his dissertation and The Web of Hope, his
father’s autobiography.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress