PRESS RELEASE
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR)
395 Concord Avenue
Belmont, MA 02478
Phone: 617-489-1610
E-mail: hq@naasr.org
ARMENIAN MERCHANTS OF NEW JULFA TO BE
FOCUS OF NAASR LECTURE BY DR. SEBOUH ASLANIAN
In the first event at its Belmont, MA, headquarters of 2008, the
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) will
present a lecture by Dr. Sebouh Aslanian entitled "Honor Among
Merchants: The Armenians of New Julfa and the Growth of Modern
Long-Distance Trade" on Thursday, March 13, at 8:00 p.m., at the NAASR
Center, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA.
Vital Role of Armenian Merchants in Development of Modern Trade
In this lecture Aslanian will examine the role of trust and cooperation
in early modern (17th-18th centuries) long-distance trade by focusing on
the Armenian merchants of New Julfa, Isfahan, in the Safavid Empire of
Iran, who maintained an extensive network throughout the Mediterranean
and the Indian Ocean and beyond.
The Julfa Armenians were at the center of a vast trade and communication
network that extended across many empires and states, languages, and
religions. Trust and reputation (akhtibar, in Julfan dialect) were
vital to maintaining efficient and profitable relations, and the largely
autonomous New Julfa trading colony worked hard to perpetuate and
enforce its standards. Aslanian’s lecture will also include a
Powerpoint presentation of representative pictures, maps, and documents.
Author of Award-Winning Dissertation
Dr. Sebouh Aslanian was born and raised in Ethiopia, and was educated
at McGill University, the Graduate Faculty of the New School for
Social Research in New York, and Columbia University, where he
received a Ph.D. in 2007. His dissertation, "From the Indian Ocean
to the Mediterranean: Circulation and the Global Trade Network of
Armenian Merchants from New Julfa, Isfahan, 1605-1747," was selected
the best dissertation in the humanities at Columbia in 2007. He has
taught at Columbia, Claremont McKenna College in California, and is
currently Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of History at
Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA.
Aslanian is the author of The Polycentric Nation: Dispersion History and
the role of Simeon Yerevantsi’s Girk vor Kochi Partavchar in the
Eighteenth Century Armenian National Revival, as well as articles which
have appeared in Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies, The
Armenian Forum, The Journal of World History, and The Journal of the
Social and Economic History of the Orient. He is currently writing a
book with his wife, Dr. Houri Berberian, on the trans-imperial
activities of the Venetian Armenian family the Scerimans/Shahrimanians,
originally from New Julfa.
Ongoing Expansion of NAASR’s Programs Nationwide
The lecture by Aslanian comes toward the end of a busy winter season for
NAASR’s programs. Since December, the organization has co-sponsored a
forum commemorating the first anniversary of the murder of Hrant Dink at
the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church in North America with the
Organization of Istanbul Armenians and the Armenian Educational
Foundation Chair in Modern Armenian History at UCLA, featuring Prof.
Taner Akcam, Prof. Richard Hovannisian, and NAASR Board Member Steve
Kurkjian, as well as lectures by Prof. George Bournoutian in
Connecticut, California, New York City, and Florida.
The NAASR Center 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.
More information about the lecture is available by calling 617-489-1610,
faxing 617-484-1759, e-mailing hq@naasr.org, or writing to NAASR, 395
Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478.