La Porta Starts New Semester at Fresno State with Enthusiasm

Hagop Ohanessian
Staff Writer

Dr. Sergio La Porta was appointed as Haig and Isabel Berberian Professor of Armenian Studies at Fresno State and joined the faculty this Fall semester as an Associate Professor of Armenian Studies.
Dr. La Porta’s father immigrated from Sicily in 1960 and his mother, whose parents were English and Dutch, was born in New York. Dr. La Porta is a native of Elmhurst, Queens, New York City and received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University in New York where he studied Indology and Middle Eastern Studies. During his junior year at Columbia, he studied abroad at Oxford University where he studied Sanskrit, Pali, and Tibetan. After graduating, he attended Rothberg International School of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, in order to study Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity.

Dr. James Russell, Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University, suggested that La Porta study Armenian with Michael Stone and Roberta Ervin while in Jerusalem. Dr. La Porta stated, “I fell in love with grabar (Classical Armenian) and then applied to work with James Russell for a doctorate at Harvard University.” His research included Grigor Tat‘ewac‘i (Krikor Datevatsi) and wrote his thesis on the third volume of his Book of Questions. He received his Doctoral Degree in 2001 and returned to teach at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His main are of research in Armenian Studies includes: medieval intellectual history; monasticism; spirituality and mysticism; apocalypticism; philology and codicology.

Dr. La Porta was attracted to Fresno State and the Armenian Studies Program for many different reasons. “I have always been impressed by the tremendous activity of the Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State. It is a wonderful feeling to be part of a program that is involved both with the University and with the local and regional Armenian community. It is also exciting to be working with undergraduates, to feel as though you can really make a difference in the intellectual direction of their lives.” It has now been over a month that Professor La Porta is in Fresno and it seems that he enjoys the city as well as the campus. “I have really enjoyed my first month here in Fresno. Everyone from the students, to my colleagues, to members of the Armenian community has been very welcoming and friendly,” said Dr. La Porta.

Even though Dr. La Porta has fit right in at Fresno State, he is still trying to adjust to having over one hundred students. “One of the more challenging aspects for me has been the sheer number of classes and students. I have had to get used to teaching five days a week with more than 150 students in four sections; the week is fairly intense.” In spite of all this Professor La Porta has enjoyed the different amenities of Fresno such as KFSR radio 90.7, the many Armenian restaurants, the national parks in the near vicinity, and especially the Charlie Keyan Armenian Community School where his daughter Lucine attends.

Dr. La Parta taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Armenian Studies Program for eight years. “The program there, founded by Michael Stone, is 40 years old and offered both undergraduate and graduate courses. My colleagues at the University were very supportive of me personally, of my research, and of the program. We had a great relationship with the Armenian community in Jerusalem, who were like a surrogate family for us and just to be surrounded with the history of Jerusalem was an amazing educational experience.” He then compared his students at Hebrew University with those at Fresno State. “The students, generally speaking, were older than that those at Fresno and they usually had completed military service by the time they entered the University; I also taught many graduate classes. One of the advantages of the younger student population at Fresno, however, is that they may be more open and excited about what they are learning.”

Dr. La Porta is looking forward to getting better acquainted with the Armenian community, to working more with colleagues in other departments, and to working with Professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian to continue to build upon and expand the solid program that is here now. Together with his family, wife Malina, daughter Lucine, and son Zaven, he also looks forward to exploring more of Fresno and the San Joaquin valley.