PRESS RELEASE
ARPA Institute
18106 Miranda St.
Tarzana, CA 91356 &
Mousa Ler Association of California
Tel: (818) 596-9660
E-mail: hpanossian@hotmail.com
Web:
ARPA Institute and Mousa Ler Association present the Lecture: “Musa
Dagh Genocide Resistance in Light of New Evidence”(In Armenian) by
Vahram Shemmassian, Ph.D. on Thursday, September 29, 2005 at 7:30 PM
in the Merdinian school auditorium.
The Address is 13330 Riverside Dr., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403.
Directions: on the 101 FWY exit on Woodman, go north and turn right on
Riverside Dr.
Abstract: `Musa Dagh’ is a household name among Armenians and `rings a
bell’ among other people. In July 1915, during the early phase of the
Genocide, about 6,000 Armenian highlanders living near the biblical
town Antioch were given deportation orders by the Ottoman
government. About one-third heeded the order and was exiled to the
Syrian town of Hama, but the majority decided to take arms and resist.
No published study exists regarding the fate of those who were
dispatched to Hama. Memoirs published in recent years and archival
materials not used before will be cited to shed new light on certain
aspects of the resistance. A replica of the cross and pictures will
also be presented.
Professor Vahram Shemmassian, professor of Armenian Studies in the
Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures at the
California State University, Northridge, holds a Ph.D. in History from
UCLA. His doctoral dissertation, entitled `The Armenian Villagers of
Musa Dagh: A Historical-Ethnographic Study, 1840-1915,’ is currently
being revised for publication. Dr. Shemmassian has taught Armenian
History, Armenian Language, Sociology, and Western Civilization at the
National University, Fresno, CA; Pasadena City College, Pasadena, CA;
and Los Angeles Valley College, Van Nuys, CA. In 1989-1990, he was
the Chair of the Armenology Department at the now-defunct American
Armenian International College, La Verne, CA. As such, in addition to
teaching Armenian subjects, he organized a one-day symposium on
`Armenian-Genocide Issues, 1915-1990.’
He has conducted extensive research in some thirty governmental and
non-governmental archival repositories in the United States, Europe,
and the Middle East, gathering data on such areas of interest as the
Armenians of Musa Dagh and northwestern Syria in general, as well as
Armenian Genocide survivors in the Middle East at the end of World War
I. He has published several scholarly articles, delivered lectures at
community events and in universities, and participated in symposia and
conferences.
Dr. Shemmassian’s experience is not limited to higher education and
scholarship, for he has served in the capacity of principal of three
Armenian day schools in the greater Los Angeles area, namely, Chamlian
School, A.G. Minassian School, and Merdinian School.
For Information Please call Dr. Hagop Panossian at(818)586-9660