WATERTOWN, Mass.—On Wed., March 3, the Armenian Library and Museum of America (ALMA) will feature Rouben Shougarian presenting his thought-provoking book West of Eden, East of the Chessboard: Four Philosophical Looks Upon the Unknown (Gomidas Institute). The book presentation and signing will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Museum’s Contemporary Art Gallery, 3rd floor, on 65 Main Street in Watertown.
In West of Eden, East of the Chessboard, Shougarian draws heavily on literary criticisms, allegories, American literature, and his own political experiences to offer a creative twist and unorthodox examination of freedom, liberty, and necessity. The book considers the sociological and philosophical causes behind the contemporary American political mind-set and role of human will in decision-making, some aspects of European evolution, and the genesis of national characters and idiosyncrasies.
Dr. Margaret Cezair-Thompson of Wellesley College calls the book “a provocative treatise.” Shougarian “offers a unique perspective as a thinker schooled in both American and European (including Eastern-European) traditions,” she says.
His is “an intellectually stimulating portrait of American society and culture as witnessed by a foreign diplomat,” says Edward Alexander, a retired U.S. diplomat. “[A] refreshing and provocative, following in the tradition of de Tocqueville and other foreign analysts of the American character…”
Shougarian was the first Armenian ambassador to the United States (1993-99), was deputy foreign minister of the Republic of Armenia (1999-2005) and ambassador to Italy, Spain, and Portugal (2005-08). He currently teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts.
The event is free and open to the public. West of Eden, East of the Chessboard is available for pre-order on ALMA’s website (www.almainc.org). The book can either be picked up on the day of the event or signed by Shougarian and shipped to a specified address following the event.
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