News

Suren Oganessian Staff Writer On Friday, March 8, a large audience attended the 14th Annual Armenian Film Festival, considered a favorite by many Armenian Studies Program supporters. Held on the Fresno State campus, the festival showcases little-known independent films produced in Armenia or by Diasporan Armenians. Funding for the Film Festival is provided through the Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation. ...

Tatevik Hovhannisyan Staff Writer The Armenian community has been learning quite a bit about the effects of translations this spring semester, as Dr. Sona Haroutyunian (University of Venice, Italy), the 10th Kazan Visiting Professor of Armenian Studies, has shared her knowledge in a three-part public lecture series on “The Theme of Genocide in Literature, Translation, and Cinema.” Dr. Haroutyunian concluded ...

Aleek Karkazian Staff Writer “Knowledge is power”—this idea was the driving force behind the creation of the documentary “Orphans of the Genocide.” Motivated by this powerful concept, ValleyPBS (based in the San Joaquin Valley) screened the film on Thursday, April 18, bringing together the director of the film, Bared Maronian, actor Ken Davitian, and Armenian Studies Program Coordinator Barlow Der ...

Staff Report Rita-Marie Costanian Social Work Minor in Armenian Studies What did you value most from your experiences in the Armenian Studies Program? I valued learning about the history of my culture. Being Armenian has made me who I am today, and I truly enjoyed and appreciated having the opportunity to further my education about my heritage. What was your ...

Emma Shaljyan Staff Writer Middle East specialist Gregory Aftandilian was a guest of the Armenian Studies Program on Thursday, April 4, when he presented a talk on “Trans-Generational Trauma: The Impact of the Armenian Genocide on the Second Generation.” The focus of Aftandilian’s presentation was on how the Genocide affected the offspring of the Genocide survivors. He became interested in ...

Ruzan Orkusyan Staff Writer The power of translation is the ability to overcome cultural barriers and make history and memories available to a global audience–this was the central theme of Dr. Sona Haroutyunian’s (University of Venice, Italy) second lecture in the series “The Theme of the Armenian Genocide in Literature, Translation, and Cinema.” The lecture, given by Kazan Visiting Professor ...

Staff Report The interconnectivity of the world is a characteristic of our age of globalism. While the pre-modern period did not witness an intensity of interaction comparable to our own, it nonetheless was interconnected. On April 16, Dr. Sergio La Porta, Haig and Isabel Berberian Chair of Armenian Studies at Fresno State, explored some of the areas of interaction between ...

Denise Altounian Staff Writer The San Joaquin Valley is lucky to be home to a melting pot of distinct cultures. Immigrants from all over the world, including the Armenians, have settled here to become the backbone of its success. One of the most important missions we have is to preserve these rich cultures. The Valley Cultural Coalition (VCC), a local ...

Marine Vardanyan Staff Writer February 20, 1988, marks a moment in Armenian history when the people of Armenia and Karabagh utilized their willpower to protest and demand the independence of Karabagh from Azerbaijan and its unification with Armenia. That date gave birth to the Karabagh Liberation Movement and was the first drop of the ripple effect that continues to touch ...

Suren Oganessian Staff Writer Can a NYTimes Bestselling novel raise awareness about the Genocide and be entertaining? The answer is yes, and Chris Bohjalian, author of The Sandcastle Girls, visited Fresno State on April 14, 2013, to share just how he wrote such a novel. The novel is about the romance between an American nurse and an Armenian engineer set ...