Shougarian to Present `West of Eden, East of the Chessboard’ at ALMA

Shougarian to Present `West of Eden, East of the Chessboard’ at ALMA

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By Weekly Staff – on February 19, 2010

WATERTOWN, Mass. – On Wed., March 3, the Armenian Library and Museum of
America (ALMA) will feature Rouben Shougarian presenting his
thought-provoking book West of Eden, East of the Chessboard: Four
Philosophical Looks Upon the Unknown (Gomidas Institute). The book
presentation and signing will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Museum’s
Contemporary Art Gallery, 3rd floor, on 65 Main Street in Watertown.

In West of Eden, East of the Chessboard, Shougarian draws heavily on
literary criticisms, allegories, American literature, and his own
political experiences to offer a creative twist and unorthodox
examination of freedom, liberty, and necessity. The book considers the
sociological and philosophical causes behind the contemporary American
political mind-set and role of human will in decision-making, some
aspects of European evolution, and the genesis of national characters
and idiosyncrasies.

Dr. Margaret Cezair-Thompson of Wellesley College calls the book `a
provocative treatise.’ Shougarian `offers a unique perspective as a
thinker schooled in both American and European (including
Eastern-European) traditions,’ she says.

His is `an intellectually stimulating portrait of American society and
culture as witnessed by a foreign diplomat,’ says Edward Alexander, a
retired U.S. diplomat. `[A] refreshing and provocative, following in
the tradition of de Tocqueville and other foreign analysts of the
American character…’

Shougarian was the first Armenian ambassador to the United States
(1993-99), was deputy foreign minister of the Republic of Armenia
(1999-2005) and ambassador to Italy, Spain, and Portugal (2005-08). He
currently teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts
University in Massachusetts.

The event is free and open to the public. West of Eden, East of the
Chessboard is available for pre-order on ALMA’s website
(). The book can either be picked up on the day of the
event or signed by Shougarian and shipped to a specified address
following the event.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

http://www.armenianweekly.com/2010/02/19/sho
www.almainc.org

Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS