Event Videos (2020–2025)
Is the Pen Mightier than the Sword? Historians, Disputed Ownership of History, and Ethnic Conflict in the South Caucasus ~ DAY 1
Examining case studies from Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia to Nagorno Karabakh and its surrounding regions and Nakhijevan in Azerbaijan, scholars present comparative and connective histories of how the historian’s craft and its proponents have been implicated in the incitement of conflict and the destruction of cultural heritage. Topics explored include Soviet nationality policy, the production of national histories for the South Caucasian nationalities, the standardization of curricula of national histories under Soviet and post-Soviet rule, and the destruction of historical monuments.
THE MATERIALITY OF ARMENIAN CHRISTIANITY: Gospel Books as Sacred Objects
Based on several years of ethnographic research in Armenia and recent anthropological literature on religion as a sensual and material phenomenon, Konrad Siekierski discusses how Gospel Books (and some other religious texts) make visible the invisible, touchable the untouchable, and – ultimately – reachable the unreachable for Armenian Christians today. He also explores the Armenian veneration of home saints in the context of Soviet and post-Soviet Armenia’s changing socio-political landscape, the decay of traditional village life in the country, and the theft of many privately owned Gospel Books
The Journeys of Heroes
the genesis and daring pursuits of the Special Striking Division that operated under the personal authority of General Antranig Ozanian—and outside the control of the First Republic—as chronicled by Yeghishe Catchouny. Discover the parallel movements of the volunteer forces under the command of Vagharshag Shahinian.
Fractured Regions and Small States: The Impact of Shifting Geopolitics on Armenia
As states in Armenia's political neighborhoods develop new strategic partnerships and the role of superpowers, particularly the US, evolves, what is the impact on Armenia? How should Armenia position itself in these increasingly turbulent times?
Armenian Libraries and Museums
An all-star panel of librarians and specialists on Armenian collections - including those at the US Library of Congress, the Nubarian Library in Paris, the NAASR Mardigian Library in Belmont, Massachusetts, and the Armenian Institute in London - discuss the issues Armenian libraries and museums face now and into the future.
‘Desert Kites’: Mysterious Prehistoric Structures in Armenia
“Desert kites” are large-scale stone structures of different forms, discovered in the Middle East and Central Asia, as well as in Armenia. They usually consist of two long rows of stones, several kilometers long, of an enclosure that can reach several dozen acres. The enclosure can have various forms: some are geometric while others resemble more complex shapes (including, most notably, a child’s kite).
The Avedis Derounian Archive at NAASR: A Vital Resource on US-Based Extremism
Panel discussion with filmmaker and writer Guido Jimenez-Cruz, and professors and authors Charles Gallagher and Christopher Vials about Avedis Derounian, aka John Roy Carlson, and his undercover work with US Nazis, moderated by author Michael Bobelian
Aftermath: the Armenian Earthquake of 1988, A Photo Collection by Asadour Guzelian
This webinar includes an introduction to the Armenian Image Archive (AIA) by Carla Garapedian, Ph.D., a survey by Joseph Malikian, Ph.D., of early Armenian photography which will be a focus of research in the AIA, and a presentation of Asadour Guzelian’s photographs, taken on his two trips to Armenia in 1988 and 1989.
FROM THE FRONTLINES IN SYUNIK: Tatul Hakobyan Reports
Respected veteran journalist Tatul Hakobyan reports from the front lines on the fighting that has just broken out in Syunik. What is happening and why?
The Ancient Archaeological Landscape of Lernakert in the Shirak Region
The investigation of fortress-settlements, necropoli, and their infrastructure is of key importance for the study of the archaeological landscape of the Bronze and Iron Age Armenia.