Society for Armenian Studies Holds Annual 
Meeting in San Francisco

Barlow Der Mugrdechian
Advisor

The Society for Armenian Studies (SAS) held its annual membership meeting on Saturday, November 17, 2001, in conjunction with the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) annual conference held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco.

At the SAS meeting, election results were announced for two positions on the Executive Council. Elected were Christina Maranci, of the University of Wisconsin and Garabet Moumdjian of California State University, Northridge.

Left to Right: Dr. S. Peter Cowe, Dr. Rita Vorperian, and SAS President Barlow Der Mugrdechian after a panel.

They join President Barlow Der Mugrdechian (CSU Fresno), Treasurer Levon Chorbajian (University of Massachusetts), Secretary Houri Berberian (CSU Long Beach), Richard Hovannisian (UCLA), Robert Hewsen (CSU Fresno), and ex-officio Dennis Papazian (University of Michigan at Dearborn).

Dickran Kouymjian, (CSU, Fresno) and Peter Cowe (UCLA) completed their term of three years on the Executive Council.

SAS members had an informal dinner gathering with members of the Armenian Professional Society (APS) of the Bay Area at a local restaurant. The dinner offered an opportunity for members to become familiar with the activities of the two organizations. APS President Warren Donian and SAS President Barlow Der Mugrdechian organized the event.

On Saturday evening, SAS members gathered for the annual membership meeting, with reports given on various aspects of the Society’s activities. Plans were formulated for next year’s meeting which will be held in November in Washington D.C.

During the MESA conference, SAS members attended a variety of panels and special sessions devoted to different aspects of Middle Eastern studies.

This year, the Society for Armenian Studies sponsored two scholarly panels as part of the conference.

SAS members,  back row, Left to Right: Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Robert Hewsen, Rita Vorperian, S. Peter Cowe, Rubina Peroomian, Levon Chorbajian, Anahid Keshishian, Hovann Simonian.  Front row, Left to Right: Hrair Dekmekjian and Levon Marashlian.

The first panel, "Religious and Political Issues Under the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and Its Aftermath," was held Sunday, November 18 and was chaired by Robert Hewsen, Kazan Visiting Professor of Armenian Studies at California State University, Fresno. Four papers were delivered: "The Organization of the Armenian Church in Cilician Armenia (1080-1375)," by Robert Hewsen, "Relations Between the Papacy, the Cilician State, and Greater Armenia in the First Half of the 14th Century," by S. Peter Cowe (UCLA), and "Cilicia After the Kingdom: Population, Monasteries, etc. Under Mamluks, and Turcomans," by Thomas A. Sinclair (University of Cyprus) (read by Robert Hewsen). David Bundy (Christian Theological Seminary), who was to give a paper on "Cultures in Collision: The Synod of Sis, 1243," was unable to attend.

A second panel, held on Monday, November 19, was "Constructions of the Feminine in Modern Armenian Literature." The chair for the panel was S. Peter Cowe. Two papers were given, "Srpuhi Dussap and the Construction of the Modern Armenian Woman," by Victoria Rowe (University of Toronto) read by Peter Cowe) and "Women’s Issues in Modern Armenian Literature," by Rita Vorperian (UCLA). David S. Calonne (Wayne State University), who was to give a paper on "Mythic Time and the Feminine in Varandyan’s ‘The Well of Ararat’," was unable to attend. Barlow Der Mugrdechian of California State University, Fresno, was the discussant for the panel. The topic of the session provoked many interesting questions from the audience.

Armenian scholars also participated in many other panels at the conference.

As part of the 18th annual MESA FilmFest, Armen Titizian’s "The Window" and Tina Bastajian’s "Jagadakeer" were screened before enthusiastic audiences.

The Society for Armenian Studies is the international organization for those involved in research or teaching in the field of Armenian Studies. The SAS was founded in 1974, and has over two hundred members.

The aims of the Society for Armenian Studies 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.

The programs of the Society include publication of a Newsletter (www.csufresno.edu/ArmenianStudies/SAS/index.htm) on the Society’s activities and on current research on Armenia; publication of the Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies, encouragement, sponsorship and publication of research on all facets of Armenian culture and society; and such other activities as the SAS council may from time to time determine.

The Secretariat of the Society is located at the Armenian Studies Program of California State University, Fresno. For membership information please contact the Armenian Studies Program, 5245 N. Backer Ave., PB4, Fresno, CA 93740-8001; telephone 559-278-2669.

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