New Roads

Studying genocides and religion — Dr. Donald Miller, co-founding director of strategic initiatives for the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at USC, studies global religious trends. He talks to Institute Director Salpi Ghazarian about oral histories of Rwandan and Armenian genocide survivors and the questioning of faith during atrocities. Learn more about the USC Institute of Armenian Studies at http://armenian.usc.edu.

Confiscation and destruction — Dr. Mehmet Polatel is a historian and a postdoctoral fellow at the USC Shoah Foundation, researching the confiscation and looting of Armenian properties during the genocide. He speaks with Institute director Salpi Ghazarian about the dispossession of Armenians and the late Ottoman Empire. Learn more about the USC Institute of Armenian Studies at http://armenian.usc.edu.

How did the Armenian ceramic tradition go from Kutahya, Turkey to Jerusalem? What is the place of material culture in the loss of genocide & the renewal that came after? Flutist & author Sato Moughalian talks about her grandfather, David Ohannessian’s role in that journey & about her book, Feast of Ashes. Learn more about the USC Institute of Armenian Studies at http://armenian.usc.edu. "Sisters" by John Hadfield, performed by Perspectives Ensemble members Sato Moughalian, Jacqui Kerrod, & John Hadfiel

The refugee as the ultimate modern person — Keith David Watenpaugh, professor & founding director of Human Rights Studies at UC Davis, studies the contemporary Middle East & the role of refugees & displaced persons in world history. He speaks to Institute director Salpi Ghazarian about being an activist scholar, the role of human rights in developing policy, & the Article 26 Backpack, a toolkit for academic mobility. Learn more about the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, at http://armenian.usc.edu.

"Those who criticize it will also dance to it at weddings." Anthropologist Rik Adriaans speaks to Institute director Salpi Ghazarian about ethnomusicology, patriotic music videos, post-socialism and the “R” word. Dr. Adriaans, a teaching fellow in digital anthropology at the University College London, studies the politics of Armenian public culture and the anthropology of rabiz music.  To learn more about the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, visit http://armenian.usc.edu.

Renunciation of nationality — Dr. Zeynep Devrim Gürsel, Prof. of Anthropology at Rutgers University, analyzes photography as a tool of governmentality. She speaks to Institute director Salpi Ghazarian about "mugshots taken in anticipation of a crime yet to be committed" as a result of Ottoman rule. The photos of Armenian emigres became an early mode of border surveillance tech. Learn more about the USC Institute of Armenian Studies: http://armenian.usc.edu. View Coffee Futures: www.coffeefuturesfilm.

Roots, socio-spatial attachments & merging identities — Ayşenur Korkmaz is a Ph.D. Researcher at the University of Amsterdam, exploring post-genocide understandings of the Armenian homeland ("Yerkir"). She speaks to Institute director Salpi Ghazarian about participating in Armenian “pilgrimages” through Turkey, to what were Western Armenian towns & villages. Korkmaz is currently a fellow at the USC Shoah Foundation. To learn more about the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, visit http://armenian.u

Armine Aleksanyan, Deputy Foreign Minister of Nagorno Karabakh, took the stage at Innovate Armenia for a conversation on Karabakh with the Institute's Deputy Director, Dr. Shushan Karapetian. Aleksanyan then stayed on stage to present on 'Real Life in an Unrecognized Republic.' These talks were recorded live at Innovate Armenia on May 18, 2019 at USC. To learn more about the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, visit http://armenian.usc.edu.

Journalism from Los Angeles to Yerevan – For over 30 years, Apo Boghigian was the editor-in-chief of Asbarez, a daily bilingual Armenian newspaper in L.A. This month, he assumes the directorship of the Civilitas Foundation, and its media outlet CivilNet, in Armenia. Boghigian speaks to Institute Director and Civilitas co-founder Salpi Ghazarian, about his lifelong career in journalism and his new role. To learn more about the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, visit http://armenian.usc.edu.

Isfahan to Berkeley to Yerevan – Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian’s career is as diverse as it is long. The engineer turned university president speaks to Institute Director Salpi Ghazarian about his personal, educational, and professional trajectory. He focuses on the founding of the American University of Armenia, in partnership with Mihran Agbabian, Stepan Karamardian, and Louise Manoogian Simone. To learn more about the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, visit http://armenian.usc.edu.

Photo literacy & identity – Tsoleen Sarian, Exec. Director of Project SAVE - The Armenian Photograph Archive, based in Boston, talks about the significance of understanding, preserving & digitizing historic documents. In conversation with Institute Director Salpi Ghazarian, Sarian discusses how generations are finding ways to engage with Armenia & how Project SAVE is gathering documents from pre to post genocide. To learn more about the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, visit http://armenian.usc.edu

Isfahan to Berkeley to Yerevan – Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian’s career is as diverse as it is long. The engineer turned university president speaks to Institute Director Salpi Ghazarian about his personal, educational, and professional trajectory. He focuses on the founding of the American University of Armenia, in partnership with Mihran Agbabian, Stepan Karamardian, and Louise Manoogian Simone. To learn more about the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, visit http://armenian.usc.edu.

Arevik Anapiosyan, Armenia's Deputy Minister of Education and Science, discusses Armenia's post-“velvet revolution” education policies – the challenges, strategies, and solution. This talk took place at Innovate Armenia on May 18, 2019 at USC. To learn more about the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, visit http://armenian.usc.edu.

Rober Koptas is the editor-in-chief of Aras Publishing, an Istanbul-based publishing house co-founded in 1993 by Hrant Dink, Mkrtich Margosyan, and Yetvart Tovmasyan. Koptas was previously editor-in-chief of Hrant Dink’s Agos newspaper. He spoke at Innovate Armenia about Istanbul’s Armenian community and his experience with hyphenated identities. This talk was recorded live on April 2, 2016 at USC.

Dr. Kim Hekimian, Assistant Professor of Nutrition in Pediatrics at Columbia University, and Dr. Shant Shekherdimian, Assistant Professor of Surgery at UCLA, discuss Armenia's healthcare policy with Arsen Torosyan, Armenia’s Minister of Health. The conversation was recorded live at Innovate Armenia on May 18, 2019 at USC. To learn more about the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, visit http://armenian.usc.edu.