News

Hannah Paloutzian Staff Writer “Even if we sell our children, we could not afford to pay the taxes,” said one Armenian, cited from a primary source Dr. Talin Suciyan utilized in her study of the Tanzimat Era of the Ottoman Empire. According to Dr. Suciyan, the Tanzimat Era was intended to bring modernization and reform to the Empire, which had ...

Careen Derkalousdian Staff Writer “The primary mission of our program is to teach,” said Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian. “Through the participation of students, support of administration and staff, and through the engagement of our community, this program has thrived.” On Sunday, March 17, 2024, the Armenian Studies Program held its 36th Annual Banquet at the Fort Washington Country Club to ...

Staff Report The Armenian Studies Program awarded scholarships to sixty-two students from forty different endowment or scholarship funds for a total of $115,000 for the academic year 2023-2024. In addition to providing needed financial support, the scholarships encourage students to pursue a Minor in Armenian Studies and to enroll in the various course offerings. We ask our students and our ...

Sara Beberian Staff Writer It is not enough to say “Never Forget.” As an Armenian living in the Diaspora, years pass and it becomes easier to assimilate into the new culture where we are living, to forget where we came from and why we are here. Many of us, born in America, are third or fourth-generation Armenian-Americans. Many of us ...

Natalie Agazarian Editor “My imagination has ingested only a filament of a huge event.” Peter Balakian, author and poet of eight books, visited the Fresno State campus on Monday, April 22 to address what Dr. Sergio La Porta introduced as a “continuation of a conversation through poetry.” Balakian’s lecture, titled “Imagining the Past: Atrocity, Trauma, and the Armenian Genocide,” reflected ...

Staff Report Fresno State alumni Jeff and Jason Ahronian have established an annual scholarship in the Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State. Jeff and Jason wanted to give back to the community which has helped them out with so much over the years. They believe it is important that students learn about the rich Armenian culture and history and the ...

Staff Report On Friday, February 16, more than fifty 8th grade students and teachers from the AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian in Los Angeles visited Fresno State. They met with Armenian Studies Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian, who explained to students about the Genocide Monument, which sits impressively in the heart of the Fresno State campus. It is the first and only Armenian Genocide ...

Conor Youhei Hustedde and Barlow Der Mugrdechian  The Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State continues to be a prominent publisher of all things Armenian with installments 18, 19 and 20 of the Armenian Series. The series began with their first book, “Young Saroyan: Follow and Other Writings,” released in 2009 and continues its rigorous publishing efforts with each volume examining ...

Staff Report In December 2019, the Armenian Studies Program was awarded a California Humanities grant of nearly $5,000 for the “Amplifying Community: Re-cording the History of the San Joaquin Valley Armenian Music Production,” project, dedicated to recovering the history of Armenian-American music production in the San Joaquin Valley during the first half of the 20th century. Armenian Studies Program archivist ...

Careen Derkalousdian Staff Writer “I argue that through a focus on the lived experience of children during genocide, we can build a comparative framework for the global study of indigenous genocide,” said Dr. Keith Watenpaugh. “I make this argument because during most genocides, there is a systematic and shared pattern of the treatment of children.” On Thursday, February 1, 2024, ...