PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Studies Program
Kristy Demas, Coordinator
1080 South University, Suite 3663
Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA
Tel: 734-764-1825
Fax: 734-763-9154

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GEORGIA PLANNED
BY ARMENIAN STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Conference to be broadcast live on the Internet

The Armenian Studies Program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
is pleased to announce the convening of a major international
conference on "Georgia: The Making of a Nation," to be held at the
International Institute of the University on May 15-18, 2008.

More than 30 scholars from Georgia, Armenia, Russia, Turkey, Japan,
Canada and the United States will take part is this unique event. The
themes to be considered by the conference include: "Christian
Georgia:  Culture and Identity in the Middle Ages and Early Modern
Period," "The Emergence of Modern Georgian Nationalism," "Diversity
and Unity in the South Caucasus:  Discourses of Division," "Expressing
the National, Performing the Nation," "Evolution and Revolution in
Georgian Political Development," and "Challenges of the Modern
Moment:  Georgia in the Globalizing World."

Details of the program can be found on the website of the Armenian
Studies program:

The conference is part of the series "Armenia and Its Neighbors." The
conference is open to the general public. Equally important is the
fact that the conference proceedings will be broadcast live on the
Internet. Interested individuals can follow the presentation of papers
and the discussions at the following web address:
  sp/asp052008.asx. (Michigan is in
the the Eastern US time zone, the same as New York.)

Professor Ronald Suny is the main convener of the
conference. "Considering the increasing importance of the South
Caucasus region to the international community and of Georgia
particularly, we think this gathering will constitute a milestone that
will not only make this important country known to our audiences but
also bring together scholars from around the world who have devoted
time and energy to understand it," stated Professor Suny. "From the
Armenian point of view," he added, "it is essential that all neighbors
be understood first in their own context."

The conference is co-sponsored by Department of History, the Rackham
Graduate School, the International Institute, the Center for Russian
and East European Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern and North
African Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and by the
American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC, based at the
University of Chicago).