Festschrift in Honor of Dickran Kouymjian

Staff Report

Mazda Publishers of Costa Mesa, California announces the April 2008 publication of Between Paris and Fresno: Armenian Studies in Honor of Dickran Kouymjian, which pays tribute to the distinguished academic career of Dr. Dickran Kouymjian, Haig and Isabel Berberian Professor of Armenian Studies and Director of the Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State. Edited by Barlow Der Mugrdechian, a long-time colleague of Kouymjian’s in the Armenian Studies Program, the articles included in the 816 page Festschrift underline the broad spectrum of Kouymjian’s interests in Armenian, Islamic, Classical, and Byzantine history and art, the humanities, literature, film, genocide, and Saroyan studies.

The official languages of Between Paris and Fresno are English and French, with thirty-seven articles in English and nine in French. The forty-six contributors are from such diverse countries as Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Canada,Denmark, England, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States.

The contributors, who are among the top scholars in the world, include: Rouben Adalian, Joseph Alexanian, Sebouh Aslanian, Artsvi Bakhchinyan, Peter Balakian, George Bournoutian, Azat Bozoyan, Marco Brambilla, Helmut Buschhausen, David Calonne, Levon Chookaszian, James Clackson, Peter Cowe, Claude Cox, Yolande Crowe, Gérard Dédéyan, Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Roberta Ervine, Eric Hamp, Richard Hovannisian, Micah Jendian, Harry Keyishian, Michael Kovacs, Henning Lehmann, Christina Maranci, Marielle Martiniani-Reber, Vartan Matiossian, Barbara Merguerian, Claude Mutafian, Mikaël Nichanian, Hilary Richardson, Vahram Shemmassian, Lorne Shirinian, Michael Stone, Ronald Suny, Yves Ternon, Robert Thomson, Giusto Traina, Gabriella Uluhogian, Edda Vardanyan, Bert Vaux, Aram Veeser, Christopher Walker, Jos Weitenberg, Christopher Young, and Boghos Levon Vardapet Zekiyan.

The idea of preparing a Festschrift was formulated in late 2003 and a first announcement and solicitation for articles began early in 2004, coinciding with several significant milestones in Dr. Kouymjian’s life: his seventieth birthday (1934-2004); his forty-fifth year as a university teacher (1959-2004); and his fifteenth year as holder of the Haig and Isabel Berberian Chair of Armenian Studies (1989-2004).

In addition to serving as Coordinator-Director of the Armenian Studies Program at California State University, Fresno, for the last thirty-one years, Professor Kouymjian has, since 1989, been the holder of the Haig and Isabel Berberian Chair of Armenian Studies.

Between Paris and Fresno: Armenian Studies in Honor of Dickran Kouymjian will be a lasting tribute to Dr. Kouymjian.

The Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fund (New York) provided a generous subvention, which made publication of this Festschrift possible.