CAMBRIDGE, MA — The Society for Armenian Studies (SAS) marked its 50thAnniversary with a three-day groundbreaking international conference at Harvard University and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR). Titled “Armenian Studies: Evolving Connections and Conversations,” the conference took place on September 13-15 and was co-sponsored by the Mashtots Chair in Armenian Studies (Harvard University); the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (Belmont, MA); the Promise Armenian Institute (University of California, Los Angeles); the Richard Hovannisian Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History (University of California, Los Angeles); the Narekatsi Chair in Armenian Studies (University of California, Los Angeles); the Armenian Studies Program (California State University, Fresno); the Institute for Armenian Studies (University of Southern California); the Robert Aram and Marianne Kaloosdian and Stephen and Marian Mugar Chair of Armenian Genocide Studies (Clark University); the Center for Armenian Studies (University of California, Irvine); the Center for Armenian Studies (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor); the Institute of Armenian Studies (University of Southern California); the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (Belmont, MA); the Armenian Studies Program (University of California, Berkeley); and the Armenian Research Center (University of Michigan, Dearborn).
Over fifty scholars from Armenia, Turkey, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, England, Australia, and the United States participated in the three-day conference. The conference dealt with established and emerging areas of focus within Armenian Studies, making connections and conversations with related areas of research. They included—but were not limited to—the study of diaspora, migration, and forced displacement; collective violence, trauma, memory, and genocide; race and ethnicity; women, gender, and sexuality; environment; transnational and global mobility of people and ideas; art, architecture, and material culture; print and other established and emerging foci.
The first day of the conference opened on Friday afternoon, September 13, at the Sackler Lecture Hall at Harvard University, to a capacity crowd audience. The organizing committee chair, Bedross Der Matossian (University of Nebraska, Lincoln), delivered the welcoming remarks. He noted that the conference marked a significant milestone both in Armenian Studies as a field and the Society of Armenian Studies as an institution. Der Matossian thanked the Organizing Committee, the Academic Committee, and the co-sponsors and highlighted the collective efforts that brought the “momentous international conference” to fruition, adding, “This is a huge milestone in the history of SAS. The breadth, the scope, and the multidisciplinary approaches of the papers delivered at the conference demonstrate how SAS has evolved from a handful of scholars to become the most important academic society in the Western Hemisphere, with cutting-edge approaches to Armenian Studies.”
Christina Maranci, Mashtots Chair in Armenian Studies (Harvard University) and the President of the Society for Armenian Studies (SAS), delivered the opening remarks by providing a brief overview of the history of the Society and its achievements. “This conference offers an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of the Society since its founding fifty years ago,” said Maranci. “Since its founding by eminent scholars Richard Hovannisian, Nina Garsoïan, Dickran Kouymjian, Robert Thomson, and Avedis Sanjian, the Society has grown and developed apace in both its membership (now close to 500), and in its profile. When one considers the multitude of webinars and podcasts, sponsored conference panels, lectures, the SAS website and social media, as well as awards for books and dissertations, grants, and the Journal for the Society of Armenian Studies, it is clear that SAS has achieved great things in its 50 years.”
The first day of the conference paid tribute to the contributions of eminent scholars who left an indelible mark on the field. These scholars, including Robert Thomson, Avedis Sanjian, Robert Hewsen, Nina Garsoïan, Sirarpie Der Nersessian, Lucy Der Manuelian, George Bournoutian, Anahide Ter Minassian, Louise Nalbandian, Richard G. Hovannisian, Dennis Papazian, and Vahakn N. Dadrian, significantly shaped the development of Armenian Studies and paved the way for succeeding generations.
After the tribute panels, a reception was held in honor of the participants at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East and featured Armenian folklore music by the prominent “Musaner” group. On the same evening, SAS President Maranci gave “The SAS Lifetime Achievement Award” to Stephan Astourian, Anny Bakalian, Levon Chorbajian, Roberta Ervine, Jirair Libaridian, Krikor Maksoudian, Levon Marashlian, Rubina Peroomian, and Abraham Terian, in recognition of and appreciation for their outstanding service and contribution to the field of Armenian Studies.
The second day of the conference began in the morning at the Sackler Lecture Hall. The first panel, titled “Gender in Armenian Studies,” was chaired by Elyse Semerdjian (Clark University) and featured three papers: Melissa Bilal (University of California, Los Angeles) on The Other Teotig: Arshaguhi Teotig’s (1875-1922) Political Thought; Lerna Ekmekçioğlu (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) on Siran Seza: The Last Grande Dame of the Armenian Middle East and Her Yeridasart Hayuhi; and Shushan Karapetian (University of Southern California) on Performing Ethnolinguistic Masculinities.
The second panel, titled “Genocide Refugees and Survivor Stories,” was chaired by Ümit Kurt (University of Newcastle, Australia) and featured four papers” Asya Darbinyan (Center for Holocaust, Human Rights & Genocide Education, New Jersey) on Refugees in the Caucasus: Novel Approaches to the Armenian Genocide Research; Victoria Abrahamyan (University of Geneva): Armenian Refugees Between Greece, Soviet Armenia and Syria, 1922-1926: The Entangled History of Population Exchanges and Partitions; Ayşe Parla (Boston University) on Hostage Writing and Surviving Genocide in Hagop Mnts‘uri’s Istanbul Memoirs (1897); and Manuk Avedikyan (University of Southern California) on Collecting Armenian Genocide Oral Histories Coast to Coast: Initiative and Cooperation.
The final panel of the day, titled “Armenians in Turkey: Ambiguity, Erasure, and Pitfalls,” was chaired by Sossie Kasbarian (University of Stirling) and featured three papers: Profs. Hülya Delihüseyinoğlu (Newberry Library) on Governing Armenian Schools Through Ambiguity; Hakem Al-Rustom (University of Michigan) on Denativization: The Ongoing Erasure of Armenians in Contemporary Turkey; and Hrag Papazian (University of Southern California) on From “Crypto” to “Islamized” to “Muslim” Armenians of Turkey: Analytical Shortcomings and Ethico-Political Pitfalls of Classificatory Labels.
After the panels, a reception was held for the participants at the Armenian Museum of America in Watertown. Museum director Jason Sohigian welcomed the participants and presented the history of AMA and its valuable collections. “There is a long-standing linkage between the Society for Armenian Studies and the Armenian Museum of America,” stated Sohigian. “It is an honor for us to be a part of the 50th anniversary conference agenda and to host the participants for a tour of our galleries and a networking reception after the close of the proceedings at Harvard.”
The conference’s third day was held at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR). Houri Berberian (University of California, Irvine) and Marc Mamigonian (NAASR) gave the introductory remarks. Berberian, who served as the Chair of the Academic Committee, explained the criteria by which the papers were chosen for the conference. She emphasized the high number of abstract submissions from all corners of the world, the competitive process, and the rigorous review, and congratulated and thanked all participants. She concluded by announcing that the Journal for the Society of Armenian Studies plans to publish special 50th-anniversary issues of the Journal featuring many of the papers after review and revision.
Mamigonian, who served on the Organizing Committee, welcomed everyone to NAASR. After briefly introducing the participants to the rich history of NAASR and the efforts that went into constructing the new building, he discussed the various dynamic programs carried out by NAASR. “One of the ways we do our work is to collaborate with other outstanding organizations that share the same values and general purposes,” said Mamigonian. “SAS is one of NAASR’s most important and most frequent partners and collaborators and it is perhaps the organization with whom we share the most DNA.”
After the opening remarks, the first panel, titled “Identity Politics and Memory,” began. Chaired by Richard Antaramian (University of Southern California), the panel featured five papers: Dzovinar Derderian (University of California, Berkeley) on Complicating Relations of Power in the Ottoman Empire Through Armenian Petitions from of Van in the Mid-19th Century; Hasmik Khalapyan (American University of Armenia) on Politics and Social Agendas of Fashion Among Ottoman Armenians in the Late Ottoman Empire; Bedros Torosian (University of California, Irvine) on Sex, Patriotism, and Redefining Ottoman Citizenship in Exile; Flora Ghazaryan (Central European University) on On the Eve of National Awakening: Early 19th Century Sectarian Violence of Armenian Communities in Istanbul; and Diana Yayloyan (Georgetown University) on Land, Power, and Armenian-Kurdish Relations in the Late-Ottoman East: A Testimony of an Armenian Survivor from Van.
The second panel was titled “Translation, Knowledge Production, and Mobility.” Chaired by Helen Makhdoumian (Vanderbilt University), the panel featured four papers: Henry Shapiro (Ibn Khaldun University) on Early Modern Armenian Mobility and the Rise of Diary-Writing; Erin Piñon (Princeton University) on Translating Translators: Armenian Vernacular Images in the 18th and 19th Centuries; Hülya Çelik (Ruhr University) on Much the Same in Other Words? On Armeno-Turkish Translations in the Early 19th Century; and Hratch Kestenian (City University of New York) on Between Empires and Epidemics: Armenian Doctors and the Global Circulation of Medical Knowledge in the 19th Century.
A parallel panel took place at the same time titled “Philology, Manuscripts, and Archives.” Chaired by Jirair Libaridian (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor), the panel featured three papers: Zohrab Gevorgyan (American University of Armenia): The Voyages of “Knowledge” in the Mediterranean According to Venetian and Genoese Notarial Documents Drawn up in Cilician Armenia (13th-14th cent.); Ani Yenokyan (Matenadaran) on The Legacy of the Prominent Bibliophile Vardan Bałišec‘i: Reconstructing the 17th-century Library at Amirdōlu Monastic School; and Julia Hintlian (Harvard University) on Searching for Molino: Sibyls and Amazons in a 17th-Century Armenian Manuscript.
Christina Maranci (Harvard University) chaired the third panel titled “Art, Architecture, Artists, and Dealers.” The panel featured four papers: Talinn Grigor (University of California, Davis) on The Description of Persia’s Notable Edifices and the Diasporicity of post-Safavid Armenian Art History; Alyson Wharton-Durgaryan (University of Lincoln) on Life Stories of Armenian-Ottoman Antiquities Dealers: The Curious Case of Dikran Garabed/Khan Kelekian; Vazken Davidian (Oxford University) on Exiles, Émigrés, Refugees: Ottoman Armenian Artists and The Arts of Dispersion; and Sato Moughalian (City University of New York): The Union of Armenian Artists, 1916-1921: A Cultural Expression of “Nation”
A parallel panel took place simultaneously titled “Architecture, Landscape, Memory, and the Senses.” Chaired by Rachel Goshgarian (Lafayette College), the panel featured three papers: Anahit Galstyan (University of California, Santa Barbara) on Illuminating the Dead: Light and Commemoration in Medieval Anatolia; Whitney Kite (Columbia University) on The Virtues of Tillage: Interactions Between Monastery and Landscape and Tat’ev; and Polina Ivanova (Harvard University) on Land Inscribed in Stone and Parchment: Historical Geography, Local Memory, and Archiving Practices in the Story of a Fourteenth-Century Armenian Endowment, Its Ottoman Life, and Modern Afterlife.
The final panel, titled “Future Directions of the Field(s): An Open Discussion,” was chaired by Dr. Matthew Ghazarian (Smith College) and dealt with future directions in Armenian Studies. Lori Khatchadourian (Cornell University) and Simon Maghakyan (California State University, Fresno) spoke about the endangered cultural heritage of Artskah; Hratch Tchilingirian (Oxford University) and Khachig Tölölyan (Wesleyan University) discussed the prospects of Armenian Diaspora Studies. Nora Lessersohn (Harvard University) assessed the field of Armenian-American Studies, and Aram Ghoogasian (Princeton University) discussed the future of modern Armenian history in the context of Armenian Studies.
The closing remarks were made by Barlow Der Mugrdechian (California State University, Fresno). Der Mugrdechian spoke about the challenges SAS had to overcome since its foundation. He highlighted the strides that SAS has made in the past two decades. “In 1976 SAS had 81 members,” said Der Mugrdechian. “Today, the SAS has nearly 500 members, which is a testament to the growth of the Society. The field of Armenian Studies has grown in the past 50 years, and today the SAS is the leading organization in the field. The SAS has been at the forefront of Armenian Studies, bringing the field into the mainstream of academics.”
The Organizing Committee of the conference consisted of Bedross Der Matossian, chair (University of Nebraska, Lincoln), Christina Maranci (Harvard University), Barlow Der Mugrdechian (California State University, Fresno), Tsolin Nalbantian (Leiden University), Marc Mamigonian (NAASR), Lisa Gulesserian (Harvard University), and Executive Secretary, Flora Ghazaryan (Central European University)
The Academic Committee of the conference consisted of Houri Berberian, chair (University of California, Irvine) and included Jesse Arlen (Zohrab Center, New York), Sebouh Aslanian (University of California, Los Angeles), Sossie Kasbarian (University of Stirling), Ümit Kurt (University of Newcastle), Helen Makhdoumian (Vanderbilt University), Hazal Özdemir (Northwestern University), Stephen Badalyan Riegg (Texas A&M University), and Hratch Tchilingirian (Oxford University).
The Executive Council of the Society of Armenian Studies (SAS) consists of President Christina Maranci (Harvard University), Vice-President Rachel Goshgarian (Lafayette College), Secretary Armen T. Marsoobian (Southern Connecticut State University), Treasurer Shushan Karapetian (University of Southern California), advisors Elyse Semerdjian (Clark University), Helen Makhdoumian (Vanderbilt University), Asya Darbinyan (Center for Holocaust, Human Rights & Genocide Education, New Jersey), and ex-officio JSAS Editor Tamar Boyadjian (Stanford University).
The SAS is an international body, composed of scholars and students, whose aims are to promote the study of Armenian culture and society, including history, language, literature, and social, political, and economic questions; to facilitate the exchange of scholarly information pertaining to Armenian studies around the world; and to sponsor panels and conferences on Armenian studies.
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