Author Antonia Arslan hosted by friends of UCLA Armenian program

Published: Tuesday February 23, 2010
author-antonia-arslan-hosted-by-friends-of-ucla-ar menian-program

Los Angeles – Friends of the UCLA Armenian Language and Culture
Studies will hold their Eighth Annual Banquet at the Walter and Laurel
Karabian Hall of the TCA Arshag Dickranian School in Hollywood on
Sunday, March 21, 2010.

The event will honor Italian-Armenian scholar and novelist Antonia
Arslan in recognition of her significant contribution to the treasury
of Armenian culture and specifically her novel La Masseria delle
Allodole (Skylark Farm) – a novel about the Armenian Genocide. This
novel has been translated into a number of languages including
Armenian and English.

Also, a film in Italian bearing the same title and with English
subtitles was produced in 2007; it will be shown on March 19 at UCLA’s
Melnitz Hall at 8:00 p.m ahead of the banquet.

The Friends were organized in 1998 under the auspices of UCLA to
support Armenian language and culture studies in conjunction with the
programs of the Grigor Narekatsi Chair of Armenian Studies. The latter
was established in 1969. Since July of 2000, the holder of the
Narekatsi Chair has been Professor S. Peter Cowe.

In addition to the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees offered within this program
and in the absence of a specifically Armenian Studies undergraduate
major, there exists an Individual Major program that tailors courses
around the needs of individual students. Impelled by student
enthusiasm, efforts are currently underway to establish a
fully-fledged Armenian Major (B.A. degree).

To facilitate the creation of an Armenian Studies major, the base of
courses in Armenian studies on campus was expanded to include
instruction in such areas as Armenian art history, ethnomusicology,
archaeology, architecture, etc. The Friends group is participating in
this effort by raising funds towards courses to be taught by visiting
professors.

The primary purpose of the Friends Annual Banquet is to inform the
community about, and encourage it to support, Armenian language and
culture studies at UCLA.

On this occasion, the Master of Ceremonies will be Mr. Alex Kalognomos
who, in the past several years, has been Director of the Annual Film
Festival of the Arpa Foundation for Film, Music and Art (AFFMA). The
program will also include Hamazkayin’s Ani Dance Company and the
extraordinarily talented tenor Bakur Kalantaryan. More details to
follow.

The Walter and Laurel Karabian Hall of the TCA Arshag Dickranian
School is located at 1200 Cahuenga Blvd. in Hollywood. The banquet
will start at 6:00 p.m. with a reception followed by dinner and
program.

For inquiries regarding donations and the banquet, please contact the
Friends at (310) 275-2767 or (818) 249-3330.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress