AUTHOR, SCHOLAR AND BERGEN COUNTY NATIVE PETER BALAKIAN SPEAKS AT BERGEN, OCT. 8

ParamusPost.com
Sept 18 2009

Renowned Professor to Discuss Armenian Culture and History

Noted author and Teaneck-native Peter Balakian, who has written
extensively about the Armenian experience, will speak at Bergen
Community College on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 6 p.m. Balakian’s
visit, arranged by the College’s Peace, Justice and Reconciliation
Center and the Center for the Study of Intercultural Understanding,
brings the nationally recognized author and scholar to Bergen to
discuss the struggle of the Armenian people in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries as well as their history, poetry and literature.

There are 1.5 million people of Armenian descent living in the U.S.,
according to the U.S. Census for 2000. More than 8,300 Armenian
Americans live in Bergen County.

Balakian serves as the current Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar
Professor of the Humanities and director of creative writing in Colgate
University’s English department. He was also the university’s first
director of its Center for Ethics and World Societies. Balakian won
the PEN/Albrand Prize for his memoir, "Black Dog of Fate," which
earned New York Times Notable Book honors. He was the recipient of
a 1999 Guggenheim Fellowship, a 2004 National Endowment for the
Arts Fellowship and the 2005 Raphael Lemkin Prize for his book,
"The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response."

His address will take place in the Moses Family Meeting and Training
Center (Technology Education Center room 128) at the College, 400
Paramus Road, Paramus, NJ. Seating is limited and reservations are
suggested. Please contact Keith Chu at kchu@bergen.edu or (201)
447-9232 to make a reservation.

The Peace Justice and Reconciliation Center provides educational
experiences, exhibitions, dialogues, and forums on the issues of war,
genocide, social justice. Additionally, the Center aims to develop
skills in conflict resolution through interdisciplinary study. The
Center’s philosophy is that peace can be promoted, and that cultural
conflicts can be reduced.

The Center for the Study of Intercultural Understanding promotes a
greater understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures through
better communication and critical-thinking skills. Originally
introduced at the College as the Center of International Study in 1979,
the CSIU is committed to the study of diversity and global issues.

Bergen Community College is a public two-year coeducational college,
enrolling nearly 17,000 students in Associate in Arts, Associate
in Science, and Associate in Applied Science degree programs and
certificate programs. More than 15,000 students are enrolled in
non-credit, professional courses through the Division of Continuing
Education, the Institute for Learning in Retirement, the Philip
J. Ciarco Jr. Learning Center, located at 355 Main Street, Hackensack,
and Bergen at the Meadowlands, located at 1280 Wall Street West,
Lyndhurst. Information about the College is available at
or by phoning the Welcome Center at (201) 447-7200.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress