September 13-14, 2019
1010 Weiser Hall, University of Michigan | 500 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Ms. Manoogian Simone was a consummate patron of many things Armenian. Thanks to her generosity, our program has been uniquely poised to train and support a new generation of scholars in Armenian Studies. This conference will highlight the innovative and field-defining work of former and current visiting and postdoctoral fellows, as well as the students of our program.
Friday, September 13
7 - 9 PM | A Reflection on Four Decades of Armenian Studies at the University of Michigan
Former Directors of the Armenian Studies Program
Kathryn Babayan (2012-2019)
Gerard Libaridian (2007-2012)
Kevork Bardakjian (1995-2007)
Ronald Suny (1981-1995)
Saturday, September 14
9 - 9:15 AM | Welcome and opening remarks
9:15 - 10:30 AM | Narrating Matrimony: Marriage, Kinship, and Empire
Chair: Kathryn Babayan, University of Michigan
“Ottoman Armenian Discourses on Marriage in the Mid-Nineteenth Century”
Dzovinar Derderian, Independent Scholar
“Of Ploys and Poison: the Diplomatic Brides of the Medieval Caucasus”
Alison Vacca, University of Tennessee
10:45 AM - 12 PM | Language and Nightingales: The Politics and Poetics of Armenian Linguistics and Literary Cultures
Chair: Karla Mallette, University of Michigan
“Late Ottoman Press and the Armenian Appropriation of the Turkish Language”
Murat Cankara, Social Sciences University of Ankara
“Seeking Doctrine in the Ambiguous Poetry of Medieval Anatolia”
Michael Pifer, University of Michigan
12 - 1 PM | Break
1 - 2:15 PM | Perceptions and Encounters: Tracing the History of Armenians and Kurds in Turkey
Chair: Ronald Suny, University of Michigan
“On Randomness and Surprises in the Field: Tracing the Armenian Past in Turkey”
Hakem Al-Rustom, University of Michigan
“Intercommunal Relations and Perceptions of Armenians and Kurds before the 1915 Genocide”
Ohannes Kılıçdağı, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2:30 - 4:15 PM | Signs, Objects, and Gifts: Introducing the Concept of Materiality to Armenian Studies
Chair: Ana Maria Vinea, Independent Scholar
“‘A Single Nature of Two’: Armenian Christology and the Materiality of the Sign”
Christopher Sheklian, Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center
"The Printing Revolution, Diaspora, and ImagiNations"
Sebouh Aslanian, University of California, Los Angeles
“Diaspora and Materiality: Cultural Objects as Signifiers of Diasporic Presence and Permanence”
Vahe Sahakyan, University of Michigan-Dearborn
4:30-5:30 PM | Future Flashes
"Frik in the Sheets: Medieval Poetry as an Alternative Perspective on Armenian History"
Armen Abkarian, PhD student, University of Michigan
“Language of Politics & Politics of Language in the Late Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic”
Ali Bolcakan, PhD candidate, University of Michigan
“Practicing Diaspora with Vahé Oshagan”
Karen Jallatyan, Manoogian Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan
"Condemnation of Male Same-Sex Desire and Practices: Regulating Male Youth Sexuality in Konya (1914-18)”
Tuğçe Kayaal, PhD candidate, University of Michigan
“Cultivating Democratic Attitudes on the Grassroots Level, One Heart and Mind at a Time”
Jane Kitaevich, PhD Candidate, University of Michigan
“The Strange Case of the Bruki Tribe of Van: Scales and Histories of Encounters between Kurds and Armenians”
Özge Korkmaz, PhD candidate, University of Michigan.
“Armenian Doctors Beyond Borders: Their Works and Contribution to the Scientific-Medical Labor Demands of the US”
Mano Sakayan, PhD student, University of Michigan.
“Layers of Ruins and Memory in Van”
Anoush Suni, Manoogian Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan
“Heritage Language Acquisition and Bilingualism: Western Armenian in the Diaspora"
Annika Topelian, BA student, University of Michigan
5:30 - 6 PM | Closing remarks
