Courses in Armenian Studies

Introductory Armenian

Armenian 1A is for students with no or almost no knowledge of Armenian. It begins by covering the alphabet, after which it emphasizes basic reading, writing, speaking, listening, and translating skills. The two literary standards of modern Armenian, Eastern and Western, are taught through parallel lessons. Students will gain an understanding of the commonalities and differences between the two standards, while choosing the one they wish to study.

Introductory Armenian

Armenian 1B is the continuation of Armenian 1A.

This course is for students who are familiar with the Armenian alphabet and can read and write basic sentences in Armenian. The two literary standards of modern Armenian, Eastern and Western, are taught through parallel lessons. Students gain an understanding of the commonalities and differences between the two standards, while choosing the one they wish to study. Emphasis is placed on the basics of modern Armenian grammar, as well as the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The course also gives students the opportunity to explore Armenian cultural material online.

Continuing Armenian

Armenian 101A is designed for students with a diverse range of language proficiencies, from second-year language learners to heritage speakers to those formally educated in the language. The course emphasizes reading and analyzing literature (fictional prose, drama, and poetry) and film as a means of language acquisition. Students will hone their language skills through discussions, written assignments, and a variety of creative group activities. While students choose whether they wish to write and speak in Eastern or Western Armenian, they also learn to navigate both literary standards with greater ease.

Continuing Armenian

Armenian 101B is the continuation of Armenian 101A.

This course further develops students’ Armenian reading, writing, listening and speaking proficiency. Students will hone their language skills through discussions, oral presentations, written assignments, and a variety of readings and viewings (literature, non-fiction, newspaper articles, songs, and short films). Students will also be given the opportunity to choose readings and assignments based on their individual needs and interests.

Advanced Readings in Specialized Armenian

This course is designed to further develop students’ Armenian reading skills and to link language competence to the study of contemporary culture, politics, and society in Armenia and the Armenian diaspora.

In addition to introducing students to literary readings and cultural discourse, this course will familiarize students with:

• contemporary media outlets and print and online publications in Armenia and the diaspora;
• the differences between Eastern and Western Armenian;
• vocabulary related to their own academic field(s) of interest;
• the complex issues that contemporary Armenian societies and cultures face in our globalized world.

Armenian Literature in Social Context
Modern and Contemporary Armenian Literature: Across Empires Nations and Peoples

This course covers selected works and topics in Armenian literature treated in a broad socio-cultural context. In addition to introducing students to some of the Armenian literary masterpieces, the course offers a lens through which to view the socio-political issues and historical legacies that shape Armenian culture and identity, in Armenia and in diaspora, in today’s globalized world. Lectures, readings and discussions in English. No knowledge of Armenian language is required (students with knowledge of Armenian read in the original).

Armenian Literature in Social Context
Theater without Borders: Modern Armenian Drama and Europe

This course traces the polycentric development of modern Armenian drama. We will take the establishment of professional theater companies in nineteenth-century Constantinople and Tbilisi as a starting point and then turn to twentieth- and twenty-first-century theatrical productions from Yerevan, Beirut, and Los Angeles. At the same time, the course will cover a number of European texts, which have inevitably interested Armenian playwrights, many of whom have studied in France, Germany, and Russia. By placing the Armenian repertoire in conversation with the classics of other canons the course will examine cultural currents and aesthetic movements across national, regional, and world stages. We will consider questions of style and genre as we interpret comedies that treat the themes of marriage, money, and power, tragedies that deal with religious faith and free will, and tragicomedies that explore theater as a form of humanity.

Armenian Culture and Film
The Armenian Genocide in Film: Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives

This course examines issues in Armenian culture (folklore, literature, architecture, visual arts, and film), with particular attention to Armenian cultural identity and socio-political movements in today’s Armenia and in diaspora. Lectures, readings and discussions in English. No knowledge of Armenian language is required (students with knowledge of Armenian read in the original).

Arts and Culture in Armenia and the Diaspora Since 1991

An overview of the literature, visual arts, and social thought produced in Armenia and its transnational diaspora since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the establishment of Armenia’s independence in 1991. The course examines contemporary developments in the arts in the context of the major socio-political changes of the period.

Special Topics in the History of the Middle East
Marriage in the Middle East: What’s Love Got to Do with It?

The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the history of the Middle East from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century, while getting them to think critically about the institution of marriage on a historical spectrum. The institution of marriage will allow students to grasp the multi-ethnic and multi-religious dynamics of the Middle East, while comparing marriage practices, laws and traditions across religious and confessional communities. We will explore the role of marriage in practices of governance, community building, and also highlight how conceptualizations of marriage have changed through time. Through movies and news articles connections will be made between historic and contemporary practices in the Middle East.

Armenia and Armenians from Ancient to Medieval Eras

This course provides a survey of Armenian history from the earliest mentions of Armenia more than 2500 years ago to the end of the last Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia and the rise of the Ottomans in the 1400s. It will focus on the connections of Armenians and Armenian kingdoms with neighboring empires (including Persian, Roman, Abbasid, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Mongol), ethnic and religious groups and cultures. The aim of the course is to explore various social, political, and economic transformations that both linked Armenians with their neighbors and differentiated them as an ethno-religious group.

Armenia and Armenians from 1500s to the Present
Identity in History

Until recently Armenian historiography has approached the era beginning with the end of the Armenian Cilician Kingdom and the rise of the Ottoman Empire as the Dark Ages. However, in this time, cultural, literary, social, economic, and political transformations occurred among Armenians of the Ottoman Empire, Safavid Iran, and later the Russian Empire. Armenians engaged in global trade and socio-cultural transformations from India to Venice and beyond. This course will focus on the different iterations of Armenian identity in various imperial settings, diasporan communities as well as in relation to the contemporary Republic of Armenia. We will examine the changing meanings and roles of Armenian identity across space and time.