Armenia and America: A Shared History

"Starving Armenians": America and the Armenian Genocide, 1915 - 1930 and After

Merrill D. Peterson, "Starving Armenians": America and the Armenian Genocide, 1915 - 1930 and After (Charlottesville and London: University of Virginia Press, 2004). In this very interesting chronicle, the late Merrill D. Peterson, a noted Thomas Jefferson scholar, traces the history of Near East Relief (NER), an organization formed in... Read more →

On The Web: Timeline of the Armenian Genocide, 1894-1923

From http://www.genocide1915.org: Timeline of the Armenian Genocide. Although the intensive phase of the 1915 genocide took place during 1915-1916, the massacres of Armenians were committed long before and after that period. Thus, this chronology begins with the massacres during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, at the end of... Read more →

Research: "Lost in Commemoration," by Uğur Ümit Üngör

Today, in one of the classes linked to our learning community experience, Prof. Anna Ohanyan and I will be discussing this excellent article on the Armenian genocide and cultural/historical memory: "Lost in commemoration: the Armenian genocide in memory and identity," in Patterns of Prejudice Volume 48, 2014 - Issue 2:... Read more →

On The Web: Feminism & Art in Armenia

The Velvet Revolution may have placated a nation's call for change, but Armenian women are just getting started. - In Al Jazeera (29 Mar 2019), by Reem Shaddad. Read more →

Mercy: In Memoriam, Zabel Yessayan, 1878-1943

Mercy I cradled a heart In the palm of my hand To keep it from breaking. A cool cloth On a fevered brow Was my soul's undertaking. To help a wayward robin Back to her nest-- My only true salvation. And I shall not, I shall not live, I shall... Read more →

Zabel Yessayan, In The Ruins

Zabel Yessayan, In the Ruins: The 1909 Massacres of Armenians in Adana, Turkey [1911]. Trans. G. M. Goshgarian. Ed. Judith Saryan, Danila Jebejian Terpanjian, and Joy Renjilian-Burgy (Boston: AIWA Press, 2016). Zabel Yessayan (1878-1943) was an Armenian feminist writer who published one of the first eye-witness accounts of the massacres... Read more →

Getting to Know Zabel Yessayan - Judith Saryan

Artifact: Celluloid Tin Pin-Back, 1919

American Committee of Armenian and Syrian Relief, Celluloid Tin Pin-Back, 1919. Collection of the author. Items like this one were produced during WWI, in a massive effort to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis in the Near East, including extensive famine in Syria and the Armenian Genocide at the hands... Read more →

Bread From Stones: The Middle East and the Making of Modern Humanitarianism

Keith David Watenpaugh, Bread from Stones: The Middle East and the Making of Modern Humanitarianism (Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2015). Keith David Watenpaugh's superb interdisciplinary "genealogy" of the modern "humanitarian subject" sheds light on the social and political factors shaping the philosophy, ideology, and practice of humanitarian relief... Read more →

On the Web: Destination Armenia!

Travel writer Meg Pier's take on the cultural richness, vibrancy, and historicity of travel and tourism in Armenia: "The reasons to travel to Armenia are many; let me share some of the country’s distinctive draws for travelers interested in encountering a rich cultural heritage and having a transformative experience! Best... Read more →