Careen Derkalousdian Staff Writer “Manuscripts are the living works of the Armenian people,” said Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian. On Thursday, November 9, 2023, Prof. Der Mugrdechian, Berberian Coordinator of the Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State, gave a presentation on “Armenian Manuscript Painting: The Early Tradition.” Prof. Der Mugrdechian has taught courses in Armenian art and architecture at Fresno State ...

Compiled by Sara Beberian Eddy Thurber Political Science Minor in Armenian Studies What encouraged you to take an Armenian Studies course? My grandparents did not teach my parents Armenian, hoping that they would fit into an English-speaking society and succeed. It worked and I grew up knowing my family’s history but wanting to learn our mother tongue. I decided to ...

Staff Report The Armenian Studies Program announces the publication of Hachig Kazarian’s Western Armenian Music: From Asia Minor to the United States, Volume 18 in the Armenian Series of The Press at California State University, Fresno. Western Armenian Music is a comprehensive overview of the history and development of the traditional music brought by immigrants to the United States,” said ...

Natalie Agazarian Editor “Many people I know who have been to Armenia express that they felt at home as soon as their plane touched down. While I did not feel that sentiment initially, I felt homesick after leaving,” reflected Careen Derkalousdian, a participant in the Armenia Summer Study Program 2023. Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian provided an informational presentation for the ...

Careen Derkalousdian Staff Writer “Denial is not only the reluctance to acknowledge the historical injustices of the past but it further aims at killing the dead and their memory over and over, inflicting pain on the survivors and their descendants, and demonstrating that future acts of violence are possible in a climate of deception and impunity,” stated Dr. Bedross Der ...

Staff Report  The Armenian Studies Program announces the publication of Death Marches Past the Front Door: Clara and Fritz Sigrist-Hilty, Swiss Eyewitnesses to the Armenian Dante-Inferno in Turkey (1915-1918), by Dora Sakayan, Volume 20 in the Armenian Series of The Press at California State University, Fresno. The book was edited by Barlow Der Mugrdechian and Zareh Tjeknavorian. “Death Marches Past ...

Natalie Agazarian Editor “‘Echoes of Kef Time’ is a celebration, not just of Armenian culture but the Armenian spirit. It’s a story about intergenerational struggle for legacy, despite the odds of fading into obscurity,” said director Avo John Kambourian. The intricacies of a melody can harbor language, folk dances, traditional instruments, community, and most importantly unity between people of a ...

Ani Sargsyan Staff Writer “Every day I used to go and touch the memoir and say – when is your time going to come?” said Maggie Mangasarian-Goschen, director of Ararat Eskijian Museum, in reference to a visionary memoir by Setrak Timourian. On Saturday, November 11, 2023, the Armenian Studies Program held a Zoom presentation on the publication of Timourian’s memoir, ...

Sara Beberian Staff Writer Jerusalem: the Holy City. A land that is important to Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and that has been contested for centuries. The period of the Crusades, from the eleventh through the thirteenth centuries, brought different leaders and religious authorities to rule over Jerusalem. However, in the eyes of many, the Armenians presence in the Holy Land ...

Staff Report Fresno State alumnus James L. Melikian, hosted an annual September gathering of friends at his home in Southern California, in support of the James L. Melikian & L.A. Brothers Scholarship fund, which was established at Fresno State in 2019. This year’s gathering raised over $5,000, which will be awarded to deserving students studying in the Armenian Studies Program ...