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USC’s Innovate Armenia program tackles identity, digital humanities

March 16, 2016 By administrator

Innovate Armenia – where Heritage meets Innovation – will be held on the USC main campus, on Saturday, April 2. “Innovate Armenia” is a signature program of the University of Southern California Institute of Armenian Studies.

Innovate Armenia is a great convener – it brings together those who know and those who care, to drive a new kind of conversation about the Armenian world,” explained Salpi Ghazarian, director of the Institute of Armenian Studies.

The Innovate Armenia focus this year is two-fold: Identity and Digital Humanities. The theme of 21st century identity will be covered with fast-paced talks by nearly two dozen scholars and practitioners who will discuss global hybrid identities, post-Genocide identity issues for Armenians and Turks, and the Armenian identity past and future. These will take place in the USC Bovard Auditorium.

Outdoors, adjacent to the music stage, there will be 20 individuals or organizations from around the world who have taken the arts, literature and culture into the digital sphere, displaying their work. “We are calling them Digital Humanists. These are individuals who use technology to promote and share Armenian language, literature, art, cultural heritage digitally via various new and innovative platforms,” Ghazarian said. They will each present their work and interact with the public all day. In addition, each will present a short TED-style talk in USC’s Taper Auditorium, throughout the day, to discuss their vision and the platforms they have created for public use.

The nearly 2,000 people who attended Innovate Armenia in 2015 also enjoyed a full day’s concert on the outdoor music stage. This year, too, several new artists, rarely heard in the U.S., will perform throughout the day.

And alongside these stages, a unique photo exhibition entitled “Sum of Us,” will feature photographers from Yerevan, New York, and Los Angeles, each of whom has captured a slice of Armenian identity.

Armenian Genocide website launched at University of Southern California

February 21, 2015 By administrator

The University of Southern California Institute of Armenian Studies has launched Year100.org, which is devoted to the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

“Year100.org does more that just shed light on the past and its place in memory and scholarship today; it is, in its broadest sense, a centralized indicator of directions that scholarship and community can take,” said Salpi Ghazarian, Director of the Institute of Armenian Studies.

The site is in three languages: English, Armenian and Turkish. The purpose is to reach a broad range of scholars, students and anyone wanting more information about the Genocide itself, or trying still to understand its causes and consequences, and the ways in which it is remembered, studied and discussed.

The content on Year100.org is significantly enhanced by the presentation of images by Armenian photographers.

“The variety of types of events – readings, concerts, books, conferences, exhibitions, lectures – and the variety of locations from South America to Southeast Asia — will also spur further sharing by communities, institutions, organizations thus broadening the reach and impact of each activity, and supporting deeper inquiry into the subject,” concluded Ghazarian.

#armeniangenocide

USC News A hub of Armenian history makes its mark

December 2, 2014 By administrator

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Institute of Armenian Studies raises awareness of culture and contemporary issues on campus and beyond
Growing up in an Armenian community in Wisconsin, Richard Antaramian began wondering about his family’s history.

The answers he received didn’t adequately address his curiosity.

“It pushed me into more rigorous areas of inquiry, and ultimately I came out with a Ph.D. and a lifelong desire both to teach and research the rich history of the Armenian people,” said Antaramian, assistant professor of history and holder of the Turpanjian Early Career Chair in Contemporary Armenian Studies at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

He currently teaches two undergraduate courses on the Ottomans and World War I. In the spring he’ll teach a class on the Armenian diaspora.

Antaramian’s faculty position was established this year in conjunction with the 10-year anniversary of USC Dornsife’s Institute of Armenian Studies and a commitment from faculty, staff and administrators university-wide to create a preeminent program for Armenian studies at USC.

“We have thousands of students who are not Armenian who also can learn from our scholars’ incredible wealth of knowledge”

“Exploring Armenia in such depth offers a wonderful opportunity for our students,” said Steve Kay, dean of USC Dornsife, at an anniversary gala that raised nearly $2 million to support research, education and outreach. “At any given time, USC has almost 1,000 Armenian students on our campus. But, thinking bigger, we have thousands of students who are not Armenian who also can learn from our scholars’ incredible wealth of knowledge.”

The IAS was established in 2005 as part of a partnership between USC and the Armenian community to structure a multidisciplinary center of learning. The fall gala paid tribute to USC President C. L. Max Nikias, a staunch supporter since the institute’s inception.

“President Nikias advocated for us 10 years ago, and we are grateful that he continues to believe that, in scholarship, there are no insignificant fields,” said Charles Ghailian, chair of the IAS Leadership Council. “Going forward, the institute will be a more visible, active organization that initiates research, collaborates with other global centers of Armenian studies and engages with various areas of study on campus.”
Ambitious aims

Newly appointed IAS Director Salpi Ghazarian ’75 — who earned her bachelor’s from USC Dornsife in history and social science — has ambitious goals for the institute’s growth, including hosting cultural events and lectures, and bringing Armenian political figures to campus for discussions with faculty and students. Ghazarian will build on the foundation laid by Richard Dekmejian, who has directed the institute for the past decade.

She also hopes to foster an environment of expanded research and publication, delving into such issues as the Armenian diaspora and the Armenian Genocide.

“I am so pleased to be able to come back to USC to participate in expanding the field of Armenian studies so that it both contributes to and benefits from this incredibly broad scholarly community,” said Ghazarian, who previously founded and directed The Civilitas Foundation, a civic organization and advocacy group that empowers its employees to make decisions about and raise awareness of Armenian issues through the Internet, research and public programming.

Earlier this year, the Armenian Film Foundation officially gave J. Michael Hagopian’s collection of 400 digitized interviews of Armenian Genocide survivors and witnesses to the Visual History Archive at the USC Shoah Foundation — The Institute for Visual History and Education.

Richard Hovannisian, adjunct professor of history, was appointed to take the lead on advising the USC Shoah Foundation on integrating these testimonies into the archive of 53,000 interviews from the Holocaust and other genocides.

Ghazarian plans to work with the USC Shoah Foundation to develop lesson plans based on these testimonies.

“There is no aspect of our existence that was not impacted by the Armenian Genocide,” Ghazarian said.
As history unfolds

Antaramian’s research focuses on the role of the Armenian Church under Ottoman governance during the 19th century. At USC, he will expand his dissertation, “In Subversive Service of the Sublime State: Tanzimat, Consolidating Jurisdiction and Armenian Reform in the Ottoman Empire, 1844-1896” into a book.

“We are typically told that there was an antagonistic relationship between Armenians and the Ottoman governance — but that’s not the case,” Antaramian said. “My research shows that the Armenian Church itself became a site of politics in the Ottoman Empire.”

Antaramian appreciates having the opportunity to research and teach in Los Angeles, which has a diverse Armenian community from Turkey, Syria, Iran and many other countries of the diaspora.

“To me, diaspora signifies all the communities throughout the world who share common experience and institutional connections,” Antaramian said. “If a student wanted to do oral interviews with someone for a project or paper, he or she could do it right here.”

He also believes that the depth of the Armenian diaspora in Los Angeles will attract graduate students and visiting scholars to USC Dornsife.

Antaramian and Ghazarian will work together to encourage scholarship and raise awareness of Armenian issues — past and present.

“This is a new era of scholarship, a new broad interdisciplinary world of study — generally in the 21st century, certainly at USC, and now with Armenian studies at USC Dornsife,” Ghazarian said. “Going forward, we will make the institute’s presence permeate into many other disciplines, offering a unique opportunity both for students and professors to get a deeper understanding of what it means to be Armenian.”

USC to host event on ‘Denial of State Violence’ “Fatma Müge Göçek, Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies”

October 31, 2014 By administrator

Fatma Müge Göçek, Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan, will be the guest of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies on Wednesday, Nov 5, MassisPost reports.

Entitled “What Happened and Why – The Denial of State Violence,” Dr. Göçek will speak about the centuries of collective violence against the Armenians, beginning in the Ottoman period and continuing through the republican period, until today. USC Professor of Religious Studies, Dr. Donald Miller, who is also Executive Director of USC’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture, will be guiding the discussion.

Dr. Göçek, a Turkish-born historical sociologist, has focused on the comparative analysis of history, politics and gender in the first and third worlds. She has analyzed the impact of processes such as development, nationalism, religious movements and collective violence on minorities. Her most recent book is an Oxford University Press publication called The Denial of Violence. Her other books include Constructions of Nationalism in the Middle East (SUNY Press, 2002), The Transformation of Turkey: Redefining State and Society from the Ottoman Empire to the Modern Era (I.B. Tauris Publishers, 2011), and A Question of Genocide: Armenians and Turks at the End of the Ottoman Empire (Oxford University Press, 2011 co-edited with Ronald Grigor Suny and Norman Naimark.)

Dr. Donald Miller is a professor of religion and sociology. He has conducted extensive research on religion and social change, religion and community organizing, social ethics, immigrant religious communities in Los Angeles, and the Armenian and Rwandan genocides. He heads the USC Center on Religion and Civic Culture.

Salpi Ghazarian, the director of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, said, “We invite the community to join us for this program at the USC campus. This is not a lecture. It’s a conversation between two people who have spent many years studying why and how states inflict violence on their own peoples. Dr. Göçek’s research goes on to try to decipher the roots of the denial that has followed, specifically in the case of state violence against the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey. This is critical to understanding the present and future state of Armenian-Turkish relations.”

MassisPost. What Happened and Why – The Denial of State Violence

California USC Dean Appoints New Armenian Institute Director and Faculty

August 19, 2014 By administrator

Salpi Ghazarian, a senior nonprofit and education sector professional, will lead USC Dornsife’s Institute of Armenian Studies. Armenian studies scholars Richard Antaramian and Richard Hovannisian will bring their expertise to the institute as affiliated faculty.

LOS ANGELES—On August 14, the University of Southern California’s Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences Dean Steve Kay announced the appointment of Salpi Ghazarian as director of USC Dornsife’s Institute of Armenian Studies (IAS) at a gathering of the IAS leadership council and supporters. In addition, Kay appointed Armenian studies scholars Richard Antaramian as the Turpanjian Early Career Chair in Contemporary Armenian Studies and assistant professor of history, and Richard Hovannisian as adjunct professor of history.

Established in 2005 as part of the long partnership between USC and the Armenian community, the institute is structured as a multidisciplinary center of learning and research.

Ghazarian begins her post on Aug. 18. She arrives from the think-tank and advocacy group Civilitas Foundation, where she was founding director. Managing a team of 60 professional and support staff, Ghazarian helped introduce a new culture of civic activism to Armenia’s struggling democracy by establishing and expanding the foundation’s programming to include civil society strengthening, Internet media, and research and publishing.

Antaramian will be the inaugural holder of the Turpanjian Early Career Chair in Contemporary Armenian Studies. He brings with him a vast knowledge of Armenian history and culture. He was recently awarded his Ph.D. in history from the University of Michigan with a dissertation titled: “In Subversive Service of the Sublime State: Tanzimat, Consolidating Jurisdiction, and Armenian Reform in the Ottoman Empire, 1844–1896.”

Hovannisian will take a leading role in advising USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education in its efforts to integrate nearly 400 interviews of Armenian Genocide survivors into its Visual History Archive, a collection of 53,000 testimonies of the Holocaust and other genocides.

The Armenian interviews were recently given to the USC Shoah Foundation by the Armenian Film Foundation, and represent the work of the late Dr. J. Michael Hagopian, an Armenian Genocide survivor who filmed the interviews in 16mm between 1968 and 2004. Testimonies from the collection will begin to be integrated into the Visual History Archive by April 24, 2015, the centennial of the historic event.

Hovannisian is a Guggenheim Fellow and has received many honors for his scholarship, civic activities and advancement of Armenian studies. He is also the cofounder and three-time president of the Society for Armenian Studies.

“Salpi Ghazarian has a stellar background — both personally and professionally — to lead USC Dornsife’s Institute of Armenian Studies,” Kay said. “Every year there is an average of up to 1,000 Armenian Trojan students. Under Salpi’s direction and with the expertise of Richard Hovannisian and Richard Antaramian, the institute will continue to play an integral role in our mission to provide students and researchers with the tools they need for a comprehensive, interdisciplinary understanding of Armenia’s past, present and evolving future.”

Since its founding in 1880, USC has educated thousands of Armenian Americans who have gone on to distinguished careers in business, government, the arts and the professions. The institute offers courses in Armenian studies and has organized major community events, international conferences, symposia, exhibits, and concerts. On Sept. 28, 2014, the institute’s achievements will be honored with an anniversary gala in Los Angeles.

Charles Ghailian, chair of the institute’s Leadership Council noted how fitting it is that these appointments come just as the institute is preparing to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

“The Leadership Council is grateful for the work of all those who supported, served and invested in the institute in its first decade, and now, continuing the partnership between the university and the Armenian community, we are committed to a new decade of innovative programming,” Ghailian said “We welcome Richard Antaramian, Salpi Ghazarian, and of course Richard Hovannisian, and on Sept. 28 we will focus on that future.”

About the USC Institute of Armenian Studies: Established in 2005, the USC Institute of Armenian Studies supports multidisciplinary scholarship to re-define, explore and study the complex issues that make up the contemporary Armenian experience — from post-Genocide to the developing Republic of Armenia to the evolving Diaspora. The institute encourages research, publications and public service, and benefits from communication technologies that link together the global academic and Armenian communities.

About USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences is the heart of the university. The largest, oldest and most diverse of USC’s 19 schools, USC Dornsife is composed of more than 30 academic departments and dozens of research centers and institutes. USC Dornsife is home to approximately 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students and more than 750 faculty members with expertise across the humanities, social sciences and sciences.

Source: asbarez

Banquet Celebrates USC Institute of Armenian Studies

May 27, 2014 By administrator

The halls of the California Club rang with laughter and excitement as over 300 guests gathered for an “Appreciation Evening” on Thursday, April 10, sponsored by the Leadership Council of USC Institute of Armenian Studies and graciously hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Charles and Julia Ghailian, under the auspices of Dean Steve Kay of Dornsife College of Arts & Sciences.

The Institute’s memorable celebration was attended by a plethora of notable guests – Former Governor of California the Hon. George Deukmejian; Former Chair USC Board of Trustees Edward Roski, Jr.; Former Chair USC Board of Trustees Stanley Gold, represented by his son Charles Gold; Board member USC Board of Trustees John King; Retired Federal Court Judge the Hon. Dickran Tevrizian; Consul General of the Republic of Armenia to Los Angeles the Hon. Sergey Sarkisov; community leaders, benefactors, supporters and fellow Trojans.

The exceptional evening opened with warm welcoming remarks by co-chairs Diane Cabraloff and Lori Muncherian, followed by Dean Steve Kay’s spirited oration on USC’s commitment and his bright vision of the Institute’s future development. In taking note of the Institute’s many successes, the Dean extended his deep gratitude to Gerald Turpanjian (Turpanjian Chair of Contemporary Armenian Studies), Sarah Chitjian (Chitjian Fund for Armenian Genocide Studies), and Dr. Richard Hrair Dekmejian, the Institute’s Founding Director who was greeted by a standing ovation for his leadership and academic roles, and proceeded to outline the Institute’s achievements and future challenges.

The Dean presented Appreciation Medals to Gov. George Deukmejian, Gerald Turpanjian, Patricia Turpanjian, Sara Chitjian, and Dr. Richard Dekmejian, and acknowledged the years of support and service to the Institute by Dr. Mihran Agbabian, Hon. Dickran Tevrizian, Harut Sassonian and Savey Tufenkian.

Charles Ghailian, Chair of the Institute’s Leadership Council, took the podium to thank Dean Kay’s supportive leadership, as well as the generosity of Stepan Martirosyan and that of three families for establishing Endowment Funds – Mr. and Mrs. Albert and Tove Boyajian, Mr. and Mrs. Vahe and Veronique Karapetian, and Dr. and Mrs. Vatche and Shoushig Cabayan. Two former chairs of USC Board of Trustees were also honored – a Gratitude Award given for Stanley Gold’s vision and financial support of the Armenian Genocide Digitization Project (received by his son Charles Gold), and Edward Roski, Jr. was presented a painting by Arthur Sarkissian (collection of Mr. and Mrs. Greg and Caroline Tufenkian) for his valuable support of the Institute since its founding in February 2005.

The highlights of the evening were two visual messages from former US Ambassador to Armenia the Hon. John Evans and Executive Director of the Shoah Foundation Institute Dr. Stephen Smith, extending congratulations and thanks to the Institute and its Leadership Council for their achievements.

The dramatic zenith of the Banquet came when a $405,000 check was displayed on the screen as our grand benefactor Gerald Turpanjian presented it to Dean Kay on behalf of donors and supporters for the balance needed to complete the Armenian Genocide Digitization Project by the Shoah Foundation Institute. The Digitization Project, including the first 400 survivor testimonies of J. Michael Hagopian’s Archives at the Armenian Film Foundation, will be made ready in time for the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide in April 2015. This crucial and timely donation was hailed by the enthusiastic guests, reflecting a promising prelude to the Institute’s 10th Anniversary Gala on September 28, 2014 – a date to remember, honor and raise USC Institute of Armenian Studies to ever greater heights.