PRESS RELEASE
February 4, 2009
Armenian Graduate Students Association at UCLA
Graduate Students Association
c/o Armenian Graduate Students Association
Kerckhoff Hall Room 316
308 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Contact: Tamar Boyadjian
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
SEVENTH ANNUAL GRADUATE STUDENT COLLOQUIUM IN ARMENIAN STUDIES AT
UCLA, FEBRURARY, 20, 2009
The Armenian Graduate Students Association at UCLA invites the public
to the seventh annual, Graduate Student Colloquium in Armenian Studies
at UCLA on Friday, February 20, 2009. 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 for 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.
Studies from multiple fields will be presented, including history,
education, archeology, sociology, musicology, theology, anthropology
and art history. Presenters are graduate students coming from
universities and countries all around the world, including UCLA
California State University Fresno, University of Montana-Missoula,
Florida International University, The University of Chicago, Columbia
University, University of Michigan, New School for Social Research,
and multiple institutes within the Republic of Armenia.
This year, the organizing committee was led by Tamar Boyadjian, a
graduate student in Comparative Literature. She was joined by a number
of graduate student, as well as faculty advisor, Dr. Peter Cowe.
Graduate students from across many disciplines were responsible for
the individual aspects of developing 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 UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, the Center
for Indo-European Studies, the Center for European and Eurasian
Studies, the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, the
department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, as well as the
Graduate Division of the UCLA administration. 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.
2009 Graduate Student Colloquium in Armenian Studies Friday, February
20, 2009 ¢ UCLA Royce Hall 314
9:30 – 10:00 AM Breakfast
10:00 – 10:15 AM – Opening Remarks
Tamar Boyadjian ¢ Project Director, 2008 Graduate Student Colloquium
in Armenian Studies
Dr. S. Peter Cowe ¢ Professor and Narekatsi Chair in Armenian Studies at UCLA
Session 1 ¢ ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY
10:15 – 10:35 Hasmik Hovhannisyan ¢ Archaeology and Ethnography,
National Academy of Sciences (Armenia)
"Currency and Diffusion of Byzantine Anonymous Folles in Armenian Coin Finds"
10:35 – 10:55 Hazel Antaramian-Hofman ¢ Art and Design, California
State University of Fresno (USA)
"Visual Identification and Tracing of Cultural Provenance of Textile
Motifs in the 11th-Century Miniature of King Gagik-Abas and his
Family"
10:55 – 11:15 Dianna Mirijanyan ¢ Archeology and Anthropology,
National Academy of Sciences (Armenia)
"Armenian Ceramic in the Cultural Context of Western and Eastern
Construction Techniques "
11:15 – 11:35 Discussion
11:35 – 11:50 Coffee Break
Session 2 ¢ ISSUES IN ARMENIAN EDUCATION
11:50 ` 12:10 Arda J. Melkonian ¢ Education & Information Studies, UCLA (USA)
"Code-Switching Practices in an Armenian Private School"
12:10 – 12:30 Doris K. Melkonian ¢ Education & Information Studies, UCLA (USA)
"How Gender is Played Out in an Armenian Private School"
12:30 – 12:50 Sossi Essajanian¢ Anthropology, New School for Social
Research (USA)
"Educating Future Citizens: A Consideration of the Education System of
Nagorno-Karabagh"
12:50 – 1:10 Discussion
1:10 – 2:30 Lunch Break
Session 3 ¢ THE CONTEMPORARY INTERFACE OF ART, CULTURE, AND POLITICS
2:30 – 2:50 Jeremy Johnson ¢ Anthropology and History, University of
Michigan (USA)
"Reading New Woman Aloud: Literacy and Gender(ed) Performances in
Early Soviet Armenia"
2:50 ` 3:10 Diana K. Ter-Ghazaryan ¢ International Relations,
Florida International University (USA)
"’For the Benefit of Yerevan’s Residents’": Post-Soviet
Transformations and National Identity in the Armenian Capital"
3:10 – 3:30 Milena Oganesyan ¢ Anthropology, University of
Montana-Missoula (USA)
"St. Norashen Church: A Perspective from Inside"
3:30 – 3:50 Hamlet Melkumyan ¢ Cultural Anthropology and Cultural
Studies, Yerevan State University (Armenia)
"Presenting and Re-shaping Armenian Traditional Cultures in the
Yerevan Vernisage"
3:50 – 4:10 Discussion
4:10 – 4:20 Tea Break
Session 4 ¢ ARMENIAN PERIODICAL PRESS
4: 20 – 4:40 Melissa Bilal ¢ The University of Chicago, Ethnomusicology (USA)
"Teotig’s Amenun DaretsuytsÄ- (Almanac for All) and its Kegharvesdagan
(Art) Pages"
4:40 – 5:00 Tsolin Nalbantian ¢ Middle East and Asian Languages
and Cultures, Columbia University (USA)
"Competing Sites in the Development of a Nation: The Armenian Press in
Lebanon (1946-1956) and the Armenian Capital"
5:00 – 5:15 Discussion
5:15 – 5:30 Guest Speaker
5:30 – 7:00 Reception