PRESS RELEASE
UCLA Armenian Graduate Students Association
c/o Armenian Graduate Students Association
Kerckhoff Hall, Room 316
308 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Tel: 310-206-8512
Email: agsaucla@ucla.edu
Web:

Andrew S. Behesnilian
President, UCLA AGSA
UCLA School of Medicine

Dearest AGSA Members and Friends,

This Friday, Feb 19th marks UCLA AGSA’s 8th Annual International
Colloquium in Armenian Studies. I strongly encourage everyone to
attend at some point during this day long event, located on our
beautiful UCLA campus at Royce Hall. Graduate students are flying here
from all around the world (literally) to speak and present here at
UCLA. Come and be enlightened!

Many thanks to the Colloquium Committee who has put in countless hours
organizing the event!

—

The Armenian Graduate Students Association at UCLA invites the public
to the eighth annual Graduate Student Colloquium in Armenian Studies
at UCLA on Friday, February 19, 2010. This day-long academic event
will begin at 9:30 AM and be held in the famous Royce Hall, room 314.

This year, the organizing committee has set out to continue the fine
tradition that began in 2003 with the launching of the first-ever
international colloquium in Armenian Studies developed specifically
for graduate students by graduate students. UCLA, a premier
institution in the growing field of Armenology and a leader in
interdisciplinary studies, is hosting this event to further foster the
development of Armenian Studies, facilitate interaction between
graduate students and faculty from various institutions, provide a
medium for the exchange of ideas, and contribute to the professional
and academic advancement of graduate students.

Papers from multiple fields will be presented, including history,
linguistics, comparative literature, theology, anthropology, and art
history. Presenters are graduate students coming from universities and
countries all around the world including University of Michigan, MIT,
Bilkent University in Ankara, Polish Academy of Sciences, Yerevan
State University, Yerevan Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography,
University of Pisa, California State University, Northridge and Queens
University in Kingston, Ontario.

This year, the organizing committee was led by Doris Melkonian, a
doctoral student in Social Research Methodology in Education. She was
joined by a number of graduate students, as well as faculty advisor
Dr. Peter Cowe. Graduate students from across many disciplines were
responsible for the individual aspects of planning the event. This
ranged from financing to program scheduling, facilities and
refreshments to travel and accommodations, as well as both academic
and media public relations.

Armenian Studies at UCLA began in 1960. The discipline was augmented
in 1962 with the appointment of Dr. Richard G. Hovannisian, current
holder of the Armenian Educational Foundation Chair in Modern Armenian
History. In 1965, language and literature was established on a
permanent footing with the arrival of Dr. Avedis K. Sanjian, who
guided the expansion of this area over the next three decades. The
Narekatsi Chair, founded in 1969 through the efforts of National
Association for Armenian Studies and Research, has the distinction of
being the oldest endowed chair at UCLA. The first chair-holder was Dr.
Sanjian and in July 2000 Dr. S. Peter Cowe was appointed as successor.
Since 1997 regular instruction in East Armenian has complemented
teaching in West Armenian: currently Dr. Anahid Keshishian is lecturer
in the former and Dr. Hagop Kouloujian in the latter. In 1998,
Armenian Studies was officially recognized as an undergraduate minor
and currently proposals are underway to institute the major.

The Graduate Student Colloquium in Armenian Studies is yet another
step in the development of the rich tradition of Armenian Studies at
UCLA. Organized by graduate students, for graduate students, it
provides an opportunity for students to actively and significantly
contribute to the academic environment on campus.

The colloquium is made possible, in part, by the financial
contributions from the Friends of the UCLA Narekatsi Chair of Armenian
Language and Culture Studies, the UCLA Center for Near Eastern
Studies, the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research,
and the departments of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures and Art
History at UCLA. The committee also received financial support from
the Campus Programs Committee of the Program Activities Board.

The event is free of charge and open to the public.