News

Careen Derkalousdian Staff Writer “Denial is not only the reluctance to acknowledge the historical injustices of the past but it further aims at killing the dead and their memory over and over, inflicting pain on the survivors and their descendants, and demonstrating that future acts of violence are possible in a climate of deception and impunity,” stated Dr. Bedross Der ...

Staff Report  The Armenian Studies Program announces the publication of Death Marches Past the Front Door: Clara and Fritz Sigrist-Hilty, Swiss Eyewitnesses to the Armenian Dante-Inferno in Turkey (1915-1918), by Dora Sakayan, Volume 20 in the Armenian Series of The Press at California State University, Fresno. The book was edited by Barlow Der Mugrdechian and Zareh Tjeknavorian. “Death Marches Past ...

Natalie Agazarian Editor “‘Echoes of Kef Time’ is a celebration, not just of Armenian culture but the Armenian spirit. It’s a story about intergenerational struggle for legacy, despite the odds of fading into obscurity,” said director Avo John Kambourian. The intricacies of a melody can harbor language, folk dances, traditional instruments, community, and most importantly unity between people of a ...

Ani Sargsyan Staff Writer “Every day I used to go and touch the memoir and say – when is your time going to come?” said Maggie Mangasarian-Goschen, director of Ararat Eskijian Museum, in reference to a visionary memoir by Setrak Timourian. On Saturday, November 11, 2023, the Armenian Studies Program held a Zoom presentation on the publication of Timourian’s memoir, ...

Sara Beberian Staff Writer Jerusalem: the Holy City. A land that is important to Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and that has been contested for centuries. The period of the Crusades, from the eleventh through the thirteenth centuries, brought different leaders and religious authorities to rule over Jerusalem. However, in the eyes of many, the Armenians presence in the Holy Land ...

Staff Report Fresno State alumnus James L. Melikian, hosted an annual September gathering of friends at his home in Southern California, in support of the James L. Melikian & L.A. Brothers Scholarship fund, which was established at Fresno State in 2019. This year’s gathering raised over $5,000, which will be awarded to deserving students studying in the Armenian Studies Program ...

Sosse Baloian Yanez Special to Hye Sharzhoom The Armenian Studies Program has recently acquired some interesting unpublished works donated to the Armenian Studies Program Library and Archive. One of the newest collections, “The Margossian Collection,” was donated by Knarik Clara Margossian, daughter of Margos Der Margossian. The collection contains Margos Margossian’s handwritten diaries and family history; two of his published ...

Careen Derkalousdian Staff Writer On Saturday, April 29, 2023, the Armenian community of Fresno gathered at the Massis Ararat Cemetery to witness the groundbreaking of the Mousa Ler [mountain] monument. The event was planned by the Mousa Ler Association of Fresno and consisted of several guest speakers and a religious service. A reception took place after the groundbreaking at First ...

Hannah Paloutzian Staff Writer Armenian 1A, Elementary Armenian, is a four-unit course offered every Fall Semester by the Armenian Studies Program. The class is taught by Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian and is a language course for beginners. Western Armenian is a dialect that was spoken by Armenians who lived in the Ottoman Empire prior to the Armenian Genocide. Survivors of ...

Ani Sargsyan Staff Writer “It is really fun to perform with the students, because I love the music. They love the music – it is written well,” said Dr. Arsen Jamkotchian. Dr. Jamkotchian is a newly hired collaborative pianist in Fresno State’s Department of Music. He was born and raised in Glendale, California, and moved to Fresno in February of ...