First Republic of Armenia Centennial Conference to Feature Notable Speakers

Hovannisian, Ter-Minassian, Melkonyan to Headline Event at Columbia University

The ARF Eastern U.S. recently released additional details for its upcoming conference devoted to the First Republic of Armenia (Graphic: ARF Eastern U.S., Photo of Sardarabad Memorial used in graphic by Matthew Karanian)

WATERTOWN, Mass. (A.W.)—The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Eastern U.S. recently released additional details of its upcoming conference devoted to the First Republic of Armenia.

As reported previously, the conference will be held May 11-12, at Columbia University, in New York, on the occasion of the Republic’s centennial. The conference will be co-sponsored by the Armenian Center at Columbia University, the Armenian Review, and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR).

Invitations have been extended to a wide array of scholars, activists, and commentators from diverse backgrounds and fields of expertise. Scheduled speakers include Professors Richard Hovannisian (Los Angeles), Claire Mouradian (Paris), Ashot Melkonyan (Yerevan), Anahide Ter-Minassian (Paris), Ronald Grigor Suny (Ann Arbor), and others, including new voices in the field.

“We are pleased to announce the format and details of this exciting and important initiative,” said conference chair Antranig Kasbarian. “The conference will start on Friday evening, May 11, with a plenary session titled ‘The First Republic: 100 Years Later,’ and will continue with multiple panels, in Armenian and English, spanning the full day on Saturday, May 12.”

The conference will also feature a luncheon keynote address by Professor Hovannisian titled “50 Years of Scholarship on the Republic of Armenia.”

A full listing of speakers and panels will appear during the coming weeks.

The conference is part of a larger series of activities—both region-wide and in Armenia—devoted to the Republic’s Centennial. Those activities will be announced in the next few months.

 

8 Comments

  1. The December 16, 2017 issue of the Hairenik Weekly (Armenian language) has an article on the plight of Aram Manukian’s house on Aram Street, in Yerevan, not far from Republic Square. The house is missing a roof (someone told me the roof was deliberately destroyed). There are trees growing inside the house, which is in ruins. Yet on the outside wall, there are two plackards signifying that this is an official historical site. The house is privately owned. The Armenian government must take posession of this house by eminent domain and fully restore it as a memorial to the First Republic, and to Aram Manukian, and make it into a museum. The ARF and the Diaspora should insist that this be done and offer support for this project.

  2. It would be a feather in the cap of the ARF to announce at this conference that they are assisting in the refurbishment of the Aram Manoukian house…Manoukian being considered “the father of the First Republic of Armenia.”

  3. The importance of the 1st Republic has taken on new significance in the Armenian community since 1991. Because of our fractured state in the diaspora, the 1918 Republic was revered, remembered and embraced by only certain segments of the community for decades. Growing up , May 28 was a part of the Armenian calendar. During my youth, I was dismayed to learn this was not the case universally in our community.
    Thank God for the independent Republic of 1991. It opened the door for all Armenians to embrace the tri-color and more importantly to honor our history and understand the incredible contribution to our current sovereign state.
    This conference is a reflection of the importance we hold for this precedent. Scholarship is the basis for the truth. The major advances in Armenian scholarship in the last 50 years should give us hope and inspiration for the future.

  4. Perhaps a yearly public commemoration should be held on Aram Street at Aram Manoogian’s house with a procession proceeding to his grave site. I believe he is buried in Yerevan. This may focus enough attention on the plight of Aram’s house to generate some action.

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