News

Staff Report The Society for Armenian Studies (SAS) Executive Council held a meeting on November 11, 2020 to choose its new Executive officers for 2021. Bedross Der Matossian (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) was re-elected as SAS President. Also elected were Vice-President Dzovinar Derderian (American University of Armenia); Secretary Nora Lessersohn (University College London); Treasurer Barlow Der Mugrdechian (California State University, Fresno); ...

 Benjamin Kirk College of Arts & Humanities Every year, about 50 to 60 students receive a scholarship from Fresno State through the Armenian Studies Program. Awards range from $1,000 to $2,000. A total of more than $70,000 in scholarship and grants from endowments are given to Fresno State to aid students interested in the language and history of Armenian. To ...

  Sara Beberian Staff Writer “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” Armenians have been plagued by this haunting 1939 question from Adolf Hitler for many years. The Armenian Genocide is an open wound in the hearts of Armenians all around the world. Over 100 years later, Armenians still suffer from Turkey’s denial of their “crime ...

Dustin Vartanian Staff Writer “There remained no legal document that defines the Patriarch and specifies the rights and responsibilities of the Patriarch and also specifying the rules of Patriarchal elections. This would become problematic in future elections for the Patriarch of Istanbul. When elections get complicated, there are no set processes and the Turkish government exerts great influence,” stated guest ...

Staff Report Armenian Studies Program Director Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian announced the publication of Dr. Vahram Shemmassian’s The Armenians of Musa Dagh: From Obscurity to Genocide Resistance and Fame 1840-1915, Volume 11 in the Armenian Series of The Press at California State University, Fresno. The Armenians of Musa Dagh is a comprehensive history of the people of Musa Dagh, who ...

Christine Pambukyan Staff Writer On Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3, 2020, six scholars participated in an international conference organized by Professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian and Dr. Ümit Kurt, titled “The State of the Art of the Early Turkish Republic Period: Historiography, Sources, and Future Directions.” Those who were interested were able to register online in advance for access ...

Dustin Vartanian Staff Writer The roots of the tree stretch far down beneath the earth. An abundance of vividly red pomegranates lay within the branches. The immense peaks of Ararat are visible in the backdrop. This is an image of Armenian strength and homeland. These images are displayed on the T-shirts the Armenian Students Organization created and sold to support ...

Staff Report Armenian Studies Program Coordinator Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian announced that the Leon S. Peters Foundation has made a generous donation of $30,000 to the Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State for 2021. The Peters Foundation has donated over $240,000 to the Program since 2013. Leon S. Peters was respected as a businessman, civic leader, and philanthropist who lived ...

Staff Report Fresno State President Dr. Joseph Castro convened a meeting of the President’s Armenian Advisory Council in September. Members heard reports from President Castro, Interim Dean of the College of Arts & Humanities, Dr. Honora Chapman, from Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian, and from Interim Associate Dean Dr. Sergio La Porta. Members of the Council had an active discussion on ...

Dr. Ohannes Kılıçdağı Special to Hye Sharzhoom Armenians who survived the Genocide and continued to live in Turkey have not attracted much attention from diaspora communities until recently. Only in the last decade or so have some young academics such as Hrag Papazian and Christopher Sheklian conducted some research on the Armenian community of Turkey. The reasons for this neglect ...