Dadoyan to Speak at NAASR on Armenians in Medieval Islamic World

BELMONT, Mass.—On Thurs., May 9, Prof. Seta B. Dadoyan will give a lecture entitled “Armenian History Beyond the Pillars of Hercules: Plus Ultra” at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) in Belmont.

The cover of Dadoyan's book — The cover of Dadoyan’s book

Plus Ultra, or “further beyond,” is the reversal of the motto Non Plus Ultra, or “nothing further beyond,” which was a warning to those who dared to go beyond the Pillars of Hercules—the two rocks on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar, the exit into the Atlantic Ocean. In its methodology, philosophy of history, and thematic structure, Dadoyan’s trilogy The Armenians in the Medieval Islamic World marks a radical revaluation of mainstream narratives, ideological and institutional limitations, and an exit into a broader world in search of new paradigms and images. Based on two decades of research and new sources, the book is written as an argument for a different reading of the historical experience with Islam, and for a deeper understanding of the multidimensional nature of the Armenian experience on the crossroads of civilizations in the vast and rich Near/Middle Eastern world.

Dadoyan has taught at the American University of Beirut, Haigazian University, Columbia University, St. Nersess Seminary, and the University of Chicago. The focus of her research and publications is the critical revaluation of the Armenian experience in its broader and interactive aspects. She is the author of numerous articles in scholarly journals and seven books, including Pages of West Armenian Philosophical Thought (1987), The Fatimid Armenians: Cultural and Political Interaction in the Near East (1997), and The Armenian Catholicosate from Cilicia to Antelias: An Introduction to the Political History (2003). Her magnum opus is the trilogy The Armenians in the Medieval Islamic World: Paradigms of Interaction, Seventh to Fourteenth Centuries (2011-13).

The talk begins at 7:30 p.m. at NAASR, on 395 Concord Ave. For more information, call (617) 489-1610 or e-mail hq@naasr.org.