Armenian Studies Proliferate at UCLA

The first speaker, Dr. Marco Brambilla, an architectural historian specializing in the history of Armenian and Islamic architecture, discussed the significance of 17th-century Armenian merchants for the Iranian economy as well as international trade and diplomacy before transitioning to the construction and embellishment of the 20 blocks of khoja houses in New Julfa. Brambilla illustrated his talk with an extensive series of slides, comparing specific features of Armenian houses with those of Safavid palaces.

The next speaker was Dr. Touraj Daryaee, professor of history and director of the Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture at the University of California, Irvine. A specialist on ancient and medieval Iranian history, Daryaee discussed the historical legacies of Arshakuni Armenia and Arsacid Iran, emphasizing their close ties during the period they were governed by the same dynasty, as well as the importance of 5th-century Armenian literature in preserving much of the ethos of Arsacid society lost in Iran with the accession of the rival Sasanian dynasty.

Following Daryaee’s lecture, Kristine Martirosyan-Olshansky, a doctoral candidate in archaeology at UCLA, delivered a talk on prehistoric connections between the inhabitants of the Armenian Highlands and the Iranian Plateau. Martirosyan-Olshansky detailed changing trade patterns between the two regions, based on the most recent archaeological finds.

The final speaker was Dr. Bert Vaux, university reader in phonology and Morphology at the University of Cambridge, and Fellow and Director of Studies in Linguistics at King’s College. A foremost expert on Armenia’s heritage of dialects, Vaux is well-known to audiences in Southern California from his many appearances in Prof. Richard Hovannisian’s conference series on Cities and Provinces of Historic Armenia. On this occasion, Dr. Vaux provided a lively overview of the characteristics of the dialect of Salmast, to the delight of its speakers in attendance. As part of the presentation, Edward Hayrapetian recited a poem in the Salmast dialect, while many other audience members responded to Dr. Vaux’s questions regarding its phonetics and lexicon, as he demonstrated how distinct the dialect is from the close counterparts of Khoy, Maragha and Tabriz.

On his part, Sarkis Barkhoudarian, president of the Salmast Heritage Committee, expressed appreciation for the UCLA Armenian Studies Program’s spearheading of conferences of this scope and caliber. “The Salmasttsis in attendance were very proud to have professors and PhD candidates at two world-class universities, namely UCLA and Cambridge, show serious interest in the history, language, archeology, and culture of Salmast, the historic Armenian province,” he said. “Members of the Salmasttsi community are excited to hear about their heritage. They are eager to learn about their ancestors, history, and culture. Their goal is to have academic-level studies and publications to document their culture for future generations.”

In addition, on February 11, the department held a Colloquium in Armenian Studies at UCLA’s Royce Hall featuring seven undergraduate speakers from UCLA and other universities in Southern California. The program consisted of panels on “The Psychology of Genocide and the Hyphenated Armenian Identity,” “Gender and Sexuality: Armenian Experiences from the Past to the Present,” and “Contemporary Realities: From the Republic of Armenia to Los Angeles.”