Dr. Ara Sanjian-4th Kazan Visiting Professor

It’s a long walk each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon… after leaving the Leon Peters Business Building with my book-filled backpack on my back and my laptop computer hanging from my shoulder, I hastily make my way across campus toward the Industrial Technology building. Upon arrival, I enter a monochrome classroom and I prepare for the ensuing lecture. I quickly find a seat and set up my computer as I wait to learn about a fascinating subject matter that I know so little about, Armenia in the Soviet period.
It is clear from my weekly routine that the upper division Armenian Studies topics course for the Fall 2003 semester is: “Armenian Studies 120T: Armenia in the Soviet Period.” This course is being taught by Dr. Ara Sanjian, the 2003 Henry S. Khazandian Kazan visiting professor of Armenian Studies. Dr. Sanjian follows an illustrious line of Kazan visiting professors, including Dr. Richard Hovannisian (2000), Dr. Robert Hewsen (2001), and Dr. Barbara Merguerian (2002).

Dr. Sanjian comes to Fresno State from Haigazian University in Beirut, Lebanon; he is currently the chair of the Armenian Studies Program, which encompasses both Armenian history and Armenian political science. However, at Haigazian University, Dr. Sanjian not only teaches Armenian History, but Middle Eastern History, and the History of World Civilizations. Before taking a teaching position at Haigazian University in 1995, Dr. Sanjian was a freelance writer in both Beirut and Yerevan.
During his semester-long stay in Fresno, Dr. Sanjian will teach two courses: Armenia in the Soviet Period and Armenian History I, a history course that chronicles the Armenian people from antiquity until 1500 AD.
Dr. Sanjian will also be giving three public lectures sponsored by the Armenian Studies Program, focusing on the topic of “Mountainous Karabagh in the Soviet Period.”
In an interview, Dr. Sanjian said that his stay in Fresno has given him more time to work on a monograph based on Karabagh in the Soviet era, which will be completed within the next year.
The first of these lectures took place on Wednesday, September 24 at the Alice Peters Auditorium on the Fresno State campus. When asked why he chose to give public lectures on Karabagh, Dr. Sanjian explained that the study of Karabagh in the Soviet era typifies the functioning of the Soviet system for the great majority of the twentieth century.

Dr. Sanjian received his Masters degree in Armenian History from Yerevan State University; he then went on to receive a Ph.D. in Modern Middle Eastern History from the School of Oriental and African Studies, at the University of London. He speaks not only Armenian and English, but also Arabic, French, Russian, and Turkish.
Professor Sanjian said that he has enjoyed his stay in Fresno thus far, as it has enabled him to conduct more research, to prepare for upcoming classes at Haigazian University, and to relax a bit. He mentioned that the biggest difference between Fresno State and Haigazian is the size. Whereas Fresno State has approximately 20,000 students, Haigazian University has only 500 full-time students.

The Armenian Studies 120T class that he teaches meets every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from 3:30 until 4:45. The course covers a wide variety of topics that includes, but is not limited to: post-WWI Armenia, the Bolshevik influence on Armenia, Soviet Armenia’s relations with both Russia and within the Caucasus, the 1946-47 repatriation, the Armenian church in the Soviet era, the influence of Russian heads of state on Armenia, and the fall of Communism in the early 1990’s. The class has been fascinating thus far, as all of the students, from the ages of 20 on up, have been actively engaging in both discussion and debate. In an earlier interview, Dr. Sanjian explained that the study of history is important for students of all ages because it is the study of history that makes for a well-rounded, mature society. He continued to say that it is by the study of history that societies become both pluralistic and tolerant of other societies.

It is true that more than a half-mile separate the Peters Business Building and the Industrial Technology Building… a proverbial trek of sorts. And yet, it is certainly worth the long walk across campus each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, for what awaits me is discussion and debate that intrigues all who set foot into the classroom, courtesy of this year’s Kazan visiting professor, Dr. Ara Sanjian.