Staff Writer Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law AB 1210, which calls for the construction of an International Genocide Monument in Sacramento’s State Capitol Park. The California State Legislature took the first step this year in working to construct an International Genocide Memorial in the State’s Capitol. The bill establishes the International Genocide Memorial Commission and authorizes the construction of a ...

Staff Report Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk, who faced a criminal charge for discussing some of his country’s most painful episodes, won the Nobel literature prize on October 12 for his works dealing with issues of identity and clashing cultures. A Turkish court dropped charges against Pamuk for insulting “Turkishness,” ending a high-profile trial that outraged Western observers and cast doubt ...

Zhanna Bagdasarov Editor Dr. Levon Chookaszian, the sixth Henry S. Khanzadian Kazan Visiting Professor in Armenian Studies at Fresno State, presented the first of his three-part lecture series at 7:30PM on September 27. Dr. Chookaszian is visiting from Armenia, where he is the UNESCO Chair of the Department of Art History at Yerevan State University. There, he spent several years ...

Knar Mekhitarian Staff Writer Nayiri, Hagop, Kelli, Svetlana, Ani, Brad, Emily, Lara, and twenty-two other students of all ages, await anxiously in the Family Food and Science Building, Room 216, for instruction to begin. “Parev,” a simple “Hello” in Armenian, is enunciated to the class from Professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian, as he promptly receives a greeting in return. Photo: Standing ...

Sarah Soghomonian Staff Report A smiling new face greets visitors at the Armenian Studies Program office. The friendly face belongs to Kati Litten, the Program’s new administrative assistant. Litten, a 1983 Fresno State graduate, is adjusting to the new position after being out of the working world for years while raising her children. “I’m learning to readjust my life,” Litten ...

Sebouh Krioghlian Staff Writer On a Sunday afternoon, September 10, 2006, Vardan Mamikonian, a prize-winning pianist, performed in the Fresno State Concert Hall to a sold-out crowd. This opening concert of the Philip Lorenz Memorial Keyboard Concerts series was co-sponsored by the Armenian Studies Program. Mamikonian’s performance was moving, to say the least. Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Mamikonian started studying ...

Staff Report Dr. Levon Chookaszian, UNESCO Chair of the Department of Art History at Yerevan State University, Armenia, has been appointed the sixth Henry S. Khanzadian Kazan Visiting Professor in Armenian Studies at Fresno State for the Fall 2006 semester. Dr. Chookaszian is teaching a three-unit course, Armenian Studies 120T, “Armenian Massacres and Genocide Reflected in Armenian Art of the ...