Hye Sharzhoom Armenian Action
Staff Report
This summer from June 4-June 15, Fresno State will host the Fresno Institute for Classical Armenian Translation (FICAT), founded by Fresno State Professor of Armenian Studies, Dr. Sergio La Porta, and Dr. Michael Pifer of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
FICAT builds upon the success of a five-week intensive seminar in Classical Armenian that Drs. La Porta and Pifer conducted last summer at the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library at St. John’s College, Minnesota. The two professors taught introductory classical Armenian to ten graduate students and early career scholars who had no prior knowledge of Armenian.
The students were so engaged that they asked to continue their studies the next summer in Fresno. According to Dr. La Porta, “they wanted to be in a
city with an Armenian population so that they could interact with the community.” Nine of the ten students, none of whom are Armenian, are planning to participate in this year’s seminar.
“These students have made excellent progress in only five weeks during our intensive course, and have already begun to translate from Classical Armenian texts on their own,”
commented Dr. Pifer.
Both professors are very excited about the seminar and are grateful to Fresno State President Joseph Castro for his support and to the Armenian Studies Program. President Castro will host the participants at the University House for a dinner to recognize their hard work and creativity. The participants will also present at least one public lecture so that the community can learn about their research and why they learned Armenian.