Garo Minasian History Minor in Armenian Studies What encouraged you to take an Armenian Studies course? Prof. Hagop Ohanessian is one of the best instructors at Fresno State because his courses are well organized and very interesting. He was among the first people to encourage me to pursue a Minor in Armenian Studies. On the other hand, Professor Barlow Der ...

Michael Mazman Staff Writer “Coming from a relatively poor background, it feels like a privilege to serve a community like this because you know that you are planting a seed that is going to grow.” Dr. Vartuhi Tonoyan, professor of entrepreneurship and management in the Craig School of Business, has found a home at Fresno State after traveling across the ...

Dustin Vartanian Staff Writer “Unfortunately, we did nothing to avoid this disastrous war.” These are the words of political analyst and author Tatul Hakobyan. Eight months have passed since the war between the Republic of Artsakh and Azerbaijan began on September 27, 2020 and the Republic of Armenia also finds itself in the middle of a political crisis. On Saturday ...

Christine Pambukyan Staff Writer “Often times, when we think about the Armenian Genocide, we think about destruction, death, deportations, and ultimately… a narrative of massacres. … In that kind of narrative, the role played by Armenian deportees in pushing back against the genocidal policies, in resisting these actions, is often understudied or altogether ignored,” explained Dr. Khatchig Mouradian, Armenian and ...

Sara Beberian Staff Writer “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” – Matthew 7:12. This well-known verse is the opening to the film “The Last Inhabitant,” which tells the story of an Armenian man Abgar, his daughter Yurga, and their Azerbaijani neighbor Ibrahim in Artsakh. Members of the local Fresno community had the opportunity to watch ...

Michael Rettig Special to Hye Sharzhoom This article initially was published in the March 11, 2021 issue of The Armenian-Mirror Spectator and is being republished with their permission. It was one year ago this March that the world ground to a halt in order to slow the rapidly spreading COVID-19 virus. Institutions and organizations around the world were forced to ...

Michael Mazman Staff Writer With the signing of the ceasefire agreement between Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020, several historically Armenian regions of Artsakh were surrendered to Azerbaijan – leaving thousands of monuments exposed and in danger of defacement and destruction. With these historic Christian sites in the hands of the Azeris, the risk of further “de-Armenization” in ...

Arshak Abelyan Staff Writer “The magician works his alchemy not upon stone and gold but upon something deeper in us, the uniquely human gift to perceive language,” stated Dr. James Russell, describing the poet Misak Medzarents. On Thursday, March 11, 2021, Dr. James Russell, Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies, Emeritus, at Harvard University, discussed his newly published book, Misak Medzarents: ...

Carina Tokatian Staff Writer A nineteenth century Armenian migrant once wrote in a song, “I have left properties and orchards behind. Every time I say ahh, my heart breaks apart, oh crane wait for a second, let my soul hear your voice, oh crane, don’t you have any news from our country?” It was verses like these that characterized the ...

Staff Report The Bertha and John Garabedian Foundation has made a generous donation of $10,000 to the Armenian Studies Program for 2021. Together with previous year’s donations, the Foundation has awarded nearly $150,000 in grants to the Armenian Studies Program. The gift will be used for a variety of activities, including outreach activities and awarding scholarships to students enrolled in ...