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Michael Rettig Editor For the past century, Turkey has pursued a policy of repression and homogenization   towards its various ethnic minorities. The current Republic of Turkey has an egregious track record of human rights violations, with slogans such as “one nation, one flag, one state” drowning out those who would call for a more democratic Turkey. In spite of this, ...

Marine Vardanyan Staff Writer Armenian courses have a long history of being taught on the Fresno State campus. Armenian classes were first offered in the early 1960s through an extension course taught by Dr. Richard Hovannisian, and Armenian his-tory courses were later taught by Dr. Louise Nalbandian of the Fresno State History Department. “What started as a small offering of ...

Tadeh Issakhanian Staff Writer The Armenian Studies Program is both honored and excited to welcome Dr. Khatchig Mouradian as the 13th Kazan Visiting Professor of Armenian Studies at Fresno State for the Fall 2016 Semester. Dr. Mouradian is teaching a three-unit course entitled “The Armenian Genocide and its Aftermath,” in addition to giving three public lectures under the general heading ...

Staff Report Armenian Studies Program Director Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian announced that Krikor Beledian’s Fifty Years of Armenian Literature in France has been published by the Armenian Series of The Press, at California State University, Fresno. Translated from the original French into English by Christopher Atamian, Fifty Years of Armenian Literature in France is a groundbreaking study of the Armenian ...

Aramayis Orkusyan Staff Writer During the summer of 2016, Professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian, director of the Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State, had the opportunity to travel to Lebanon–one of the most important Armenian diasporan centers–for the first time. Der Mugrdechian was invited by the Tekeyan Cultural Association to give a talk in Beirut, where he spoke on June 7 ...

Diana Gasparyan Staff Writer The Armenian Studies Program 28th Annual Banquet was held on March 6 at the Ft. Washington Golf and Country Club, and brought together many of Fresno State’s distinguished alumni, faculty, and students. More than 220 guests gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of the students and the success of the ever-growing Armenian Studies Program. Among the guests ...

Aramayis Orkusyan Editor Each year, the Fresno State Armenian Students Organization (ASO) hosts commemorative events in memory of the Armenian Genocide, in order to raise awareness about it and to bring justice to its victims and survivors. This year, the ASO commemorated the 101st anniversary of the Genocide with the slogan “Remembering our past, Forging our future.” The week of ...

Aramayis Orkusyan Editor Former United States Ambassador to Armenia John M. Evans was a guest speaker for the Armenian Studies Program Lecture Series on Monday, April 25. Throughout his career, Ambassador Evans served in diplomatic posts in Tehran, Prague, Moscow, Brussels, St. Petersburg and Washington, and served as Ambassador to Armenia from 2004 to 2006, when he was dismissed from ...

Staff Report On Saturday, April 16, Dr. Sergio La Porta was honored as one of the recipients of the 2016 “Men of the Year Award” by the Knights of Vartan Yeprad Lodge and the Daughters of Vartan Alidz Otyag. He shared this distinction with renowned oud player Mr. Richard Hagopian. The award was presented in commemoration of the 100th anniversary ...

Michael Rettig Staff Writer The Armenian Genocide, an atrocity denied by Turkey, was the topic of a major conference bolstering the historicity of what happened in 1915 against denialist claims. On the weekend of March 18-19, the Armenian Studies Program hosted an international conference, “Empire, Politics, and War: The Armenian Genocide within the Context of the Ottoman Empire,” bringing Armenian, ...