PRESS RELEASE
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research
395 Concord Ave.
Belmont, MA 02478
Phone: 617-489-1610
E-mail: hq@naasr.org
Contact: Marc A. Mamigonian
“THE ACADEMIC WAR OVER KARABAGH” IN BOURNOUTIAN SEMINAR AT NAASR
Historian Dr. George A. Bournoutian will offer a special
afternoon seminar on “The Academic War Over Nagorno-Karabagh” on
Saturday, May 14, at the National Association for Armenian Studies and
Research (NAASR) Center, 395 Concord Avenue, Belmont, MA. The seminar
will run from 12:30 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. with a period of question and
answer and discussion to follow. The seminar had originally been set
for March 5 but has now been rescheduled.
George Bournoutian is Senior Professor of History at Iona
College. He is the author of numerous books on Armenian history and has
taught Armenian history at Columbia University, Tufts University, New
York University, Rutgers University, the University of Connecticut,
Ramapo College, and Glendale Community College. He is currently
Visiting Professor of Armenian History at Columbia.
Fighting War Turns Into Academic Battle
This seminar will explore the ongoing academic battle over
the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabagh. Although a cease fire has kept
the shooting war between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces quiet for over
a decade, the scholarly skirmishes continue, with Azeri scholars
presenting a version of history that purports to show that the region
has always been Azeri territory. This academic battle has real
political consequences as both sides stake their claim to an area where
much blood has already been shed.
Bournoutian recently published Two Chronicles on the History
of Karabagh, with a major grant from NAASR and other funders, a revised
and substantially expanded version of Bournoutian’s earlier, out of
print History of Qarabagh (1994). The two chronicles in question, Mirza
Jamal Javanshir’s Tarikh-e Karabagh and Mirza Adigözal Beg’s
Karabagh-name, provide a detailed picture of Karabagh in the 18th and
early 19th centuries. The translation of the Tarikh-e Karabagh formed
the basis of his earlier History of Qarabagh, while the Karabagh-name
makes its first appearance in English in the new volume.
Historical Revisionism with Political Impact
Bournoutian writes that “Partisans of both [the Armenian and
Azeri] sides produced polemical studies affirming their historical
claims to the region…. A number of Azerbaijani histories, led by the
late Ziya Buniatov, have gone beyond the bounds of scholarship and have
manipulated the original 19th century Persian texts written by Turkic
Muslims, by expunging most references to Armenia and the Armenians in
the new editions of these works.”
In presenting these unexpurgated translations with
substantial commentary and supplemented with material from three other
sources, Bournoutian is providing a necessary corrective to such
pseudo-scholarly behavior. “Statesmen shall ultimately decide the
validity of Armenian and Azeri claims in Karabagh,” he writes. “In the
meantime, the work of these 19th-century local historians should aid
unbiased historians to sort out the facts.”
With Bournoutian serving as an expert guide, those attending
the seminar will reach a greater understanding of the troubled history
of Nagorno-Karabagh and how the writing of that history has an impact on
the shaping of current and future events.
It is strongly urged that participants register by May 1.
Bournoutian’s book Two Chronicles on the History of Karabagh
is available at the NAASR bookstore and will be on sale the day of the
seminar and available for signing by the author.
The NAASR Center is located near Belmont Center and is
directly opposite the First Armenian Church and next to the U.S. Post
Office. Ample parking is available around the building and in adjacent
areas.