News

Staff Report It was almost three years ago that Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian received an invitation to participate in a book project planned to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The path to completion of the book eventually took Der Mugrdechian halfway around the world to participate in an international conference “The Armenian Genocide Legacy, 100 Years ...

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 2016. This continues the tradition of the Peters Foundation in supporting the Armenian Studies Program Annual Lecture Series, as well as a variety of other activities, including ...

Aramayis Orkusyan Editor In the aftermath of the second Russo-Iranian War, which concluded on February 10, 1828 with the signing of the Treaty of Turkmenchay, anti-Russian sentiments in Iran were rampant. After the ratification of the Treaty, an angry mob stormed the Russian embassy in Tehran, Iran and murdered Alexander Griboedov, Russia’s ambassador to Iran, and all but one of ...

Staff Report The past few years have seen an explosion in the number of digital resources available online, notably in the field of Armenian Studies. The Armenian Studies Program is in the forefront of helping students reach these resources online, as part of our continuing effort to link researchers to new sources of information. In particular, there are excellent resources ...

Elina Karapetyan Staff Writer There has been a long-standing, Turkish government political tradition to deny the Armenian Genocide. During a special presentation on Wednesday, February 10 Clark University doctoral candidate Ümit Kurt gave a talk entitled, “Why Does Turkey Deny the Armenian Genocide?” to provide some answers to the question. This lecture was part of the Armenian Studies Program Spring ...

Staff Report On February 3, the Fresno State Associated Students, Incorporated (ASI) Senate unanimously passed a “Resolution To Urge The Fresno State Foundation to Divest From The Republic of Turkey.” The resolution, which was spearheaded by Armenian Students Organization Vice President and ANCA-WR member Tadeh Issakhanian, calls upon the Fresno State Foundation to take several steps towards divestment of any ...

Elena Sarmazian Staff Writer Fresno State welcomed a new Armenian faculty member in Fall 2015. Dr. Hovannes Kulhandjian, who specializes in digital signal processing, wireless communication and networking, joined the campus as an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and is now in his second semester of teaching. Dr. Kulhandjian was born in Gyumri, Armenia, but ...

Michael Rettig Staff Writer History plays an important role in helping people understand their identity. It enables one to understand the experiences of their ancestors and how they have shaped our contemporary world. Students in Professor Sergio La Porta’s Armenian Studies108B course, a survey of modern Armenian history, have been able to better understand the present situation of the Armenian ...

Tadeh Issakhanian Staff Writer Fresno State’s Leon S. Peters Ellipse Gallery, located on the second floor of the Henry Madden Library, has been transformed into a retrospective exhibition of artwork by the pioneering 20th century Turkish-Armenian artist Kristin Saleri. Curated by Fresno natives Joyce Kierejczyk and Carol Tikijian, “Discovering Kristin Saleri” presents students and the community with a unique glimpse ...

Michael Rettig Staff Writer The vehement denial of the Armenian Genocide on the part of the government of the Republic of Turkey has led to the falsification and distortion of history. Scholarship and the use of primary sources are vital tools in countering this misinformation. Studying the accounts of politicians, missionaries, and soldiers and how they corroborate with each other, ...