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LA PORTA GIVES TALK ON MEDIEVAL ARMENIAN IDENTITY AT COLUMBIA
Posted by Taleen Babayan on December 18, 2012
NEW YORK~WOn Fri., Nov. 30, Dr. Sergio La Porta delivered an engaging
and insightful lecture about Armenian identity in the Middle Ages.
Hosted by the Armenian Center at Columbia University, the lecture,
titled ~SNetworks of Knowledge: Communication and Identity in 12th-14th
century Armenia,~T took place at the university~Rs distinguished
Faculty House.
Members of the Armenian Center Board during Dr. La Porta~Rs lecture
(Photo by Robert V. Kinoian)
Warmly welcoming La Porta back to his alma mater, Mark Momjian,
the chair of the Armenian Center Board at Columbia, highlighted his
achievements in Middle Eastern studies, including an undergraduate
degree from Columbia College, a Ph.D. from Harvard University in
Near Eastern languages and civilizations, as well as his subsequent
research and teaching positions. A specialist in medieval Armenia,
La Porta is currently the Haig and Isabel Berberian Professor of
Armenian Studies at California State University, Fresno.
~SThe students at Fresno State consistently rank Dr. La Porta as among
their favorite professors,~T said Momjian in his introductory remarks.
~SThey love the enthusiasm he brings to his lectures and the way he
engages class discussion.~T
Providing a historical backdrop of Armenia during the 12th-14th
centuries, La Porta touched upon Armenian dispersion and political
fragmentation in the region at the time. Because of Armenian
emigration, other groups began entering the area, resulting in
cultural integration among Armenians and the neighboring Georgians,
Turks, and Kurds.
While they were not the dominant culture in the region, La Porta
pointed out that Armenians were able to both adapt to their changed
environment and create a sense of community to keep the nation
together during a time of cultural hybridity. In reaction to this
hybridity, ~Sborders of barriers~T were created that emphasized
differences between these groups in relation to racial, economic,
religious, and dietary restrictions. ~SBy denigrating the other,
we get a clear distinction between who ~Qwe~R are and who ~Qthey~R
are,~T he explained.
Trade routes, the development of a cultic community, and the formation
of a textual community were integral to Armenian cohesion at the time.
The trade routes that passed through Armenia~Wincluding the
Mediterranean transit route, the Mongol silk route, and the Levantine
route~Wallowed the sharing of ideas across Armenia and helped
Armenians to create contact with the scholars, pilgrims, merchants,
and soldiers who traveled these routes. They also helped bolster the
Armenian economy.
~SIn the 13th century we witness increased economic prosperity,~T he
said. ~SHow come, at a time when there~Rs political fragmentation and
destruction, the economic situation doesn~Rt seem to be as negatively
affected? Part of the reason is you have all this capital moving
through Armenia, which is advantageous for the cities, especially in
eastern Armenia.~T
Armenia~Rs monastic centers also served as a bridge among the people.
During the 12th-13th centuries, Cilicia was the center of Armenian
intellectual activity, as it housed monastic centers and created
an intellectual group. ~SArmenians traditionally were not in urban
cities,~T said La Porta. ~SThey preferred hunting and feasting and
fighting in the beautiful countryside that is Armenia, and that is
where most of their monasteries were set up. These centers served as
important centers of cultural interaction and definition.~T
Scholars from Greater Armenia traveled to Cilicia to enhance their
education. ~SThese schools become primary centers of education for the
cultural and religious elite of Armenia,~T he said, noting that there
wasn~Rt a great degree of centralization among Armenians, and that
each monastery had its own traditions and rules. ~SA trans-regional
connection and a core curriculum were developed based on books,
sacred spaces, and certain texts, such as the Cappadocian Fathers,
Philo, and Aristotle.~T
The development of a cultic community also helped form connections,
especially the idea of pilgrimage sites, in particular Jerusalem.
~SPilgrimage sites served as points of communication and exchange,~T
he said. ~SYou have Armenians from all over converging on these
holy sites.~T
Although Armenians were able to maintain a sense of community
under difficult circumstances, La Porta pointed out that there were
challenges threatening this unity, in particular from missionaries
during the Middle Ages who traveled the trade routes near Armenia.
Franciscans and Dominicans friars converted tens of thousands of
Armenians to Roman Catholicism during this time, and while Armenians
kept their language, those who converted were in communion with
Rome and recognized the supremacy of the Pope. In response to these
attempts at conversion, the Armenian Apostolic Church fought against
the Latinization of the Armenian Church, and knew that a textual
community was, according to Dr. La Porta, ~Sessential for the success
of this response.~T
Concluding his compelling presentation, La Porta said there was ~Sa
new definition of Armenian communal identity through the creation of
shared communal and sacral boundaries and of an intellectual elite
built around a common textual corpus.~T There was a significance beyond
this period, and the cultural boundary markers that distinguished
Armenians from those around them, including religion and language, were
essential to the construction of an Armenian ~Snational identity~T in
the 18th-19th centuries. ~SThere are still ways Armenians are able to
connect to other Armenians even though they don~Rt live in one place,~T
said La Porta. ~SIt makes it capable for us to speak of an Armenian
community that extends from Glendale, Calif., to Yerevan, Armenia.~T
The evening concluded with a question and answer session followed
by a gift presentation~Wthat of a rare book on Armenian illuminated
manuscripts by Frederic Macler, a pioneer in the field of Armenian
Studies, to La Porta as a show of gratitude from the Armenian Board
at Columbia University. A reception gave guests the opportunity to
ask La Porta further questions about his research and Armenian history.
~SComing back to Columbia was a moving experience for me,~T he
said. ~SMy undergraduate experience has been essential for my continued
studies and research. To come back as a professor and speak to former
and current students was absolutely wonderful and brought back many
fond memories.~T
The Armenian Board at Columbia University was equally pleased at having
a prolific figure speak about Armenian identity and history on campus.
~SDr. La Porta~Rs lecture on the extensive trade and cultural
exchanges involving Armenians in the Middle Ages was a tour de
force,~T said Momjian. ~SDr. La Porta is a rising star in the field
of Armenian studies, and everyone privileged to hear his captivating
talk at Faculty House left asking when he was going to come speak at
Columbia again.~T
Echoing Momjian~Rs sentiments, Dr. Nicole Vartanian, the vice-chair
of the Armenian Center Board, said the lecture ~Sdemonstrated his
breadth and depth as a scholar and educator.~T
~SHis presentation was simultaneously ambitious yet accessible, and
the audience response was effusive. It was a great source of joy for
the Armenian Center to have hosted a room full of engaged attendees,
a range of Armenian and non-Armenian students, alumni, board members,
and community members.~T
Students, including Maxwell Rowles and John Doyle-Raso, who are both
candidates in the dual master~Rs degree program in international
and world history at Columbia University and the London School of
Economics, were also impressed with the evening~Rs presentation.
~SDr. La Porta~Rs lecture provided profound insights into Armenian
history and identity from the 12th-14th century,~T said Rowles. ~SI
particularly appreciated the precision of his approach and the ways
in which he made ~Qold~R history fun, new, and interesting. Economics,
language, politics, race, and religion were all remade and transformed
in Armenia during these years, and I am very grateful to Professor
La Porta for exposing this past to me.~T
~SI was impressed by Dr. La Porta~Rs enthusiasm and ability to
communicate a large amount of information so clearly,~T said
Doyle-Raso. ~SHis expertise is obviously far-reaching; I asked a
question that was outside the scope of the presentation, and he was
able to provide an interesting answer. I hope he will be back to
present again.~T
Upcoming activity for the Armenian Center at Columbia University
includes a course titled ~SMemories: The Armenian Genocide,~T planned
for the spring in Columbia~Rs Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian
and African studies (MESAAS), which will be taught by Board member Dr.
Armen Masroobian, chair of the Philosophy department at Southern
Connecticut State University.
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/12/18/la-porta-gives-talk-on-medieval-armenian-identity-at-columbia/
Posted by Taleen Babayan on December 18, 2012
NEW YORK~WOn Fri., Nov. 30, Dr. Sergio La Porta delivered an engaging
and insightful lecture about Armenian identity in the Middle Ages.
Hosted by the Armenian Center at Columbia University, the lecture,
titled ~SNetworks of Knowledge: Communication and Identity in 12th-14th
century Armenia,~T took place at the university~Rs distinguished
Faculty House.
Members of the Armenian Center Board during Dr. La Porta~Rs lecture
(Photo by Robert V. Kinoian)
Warmly welcoming La Porta back to his alma mater, Mark Momjian,
the chair of the Armenian Center Board at Columbia, highlighted his
achievements in Middle Eastern studies, including an undergraduate
degree from Columbia College, a Ph.D. from Harvard University in
Near Eastern languages and civilizations, as well as his subsequent
research and teaching positions. A specialist in medieval Armenia,
La Porta is currently the Haig and Isabel Berberian Professor of
Armenian Studies at California State University, Fresno.
~SThe students at Fresno State consistently rank Dr. La Porta as among
their favorite professors,~T said Momjian in his introductory remarks.
~SThey love the enthusiasm he brings to his lectures and the way he
engages class discussion.~T
Providing a historical backdrop of Armenia during the 12th-14th
centuries, La Porta touched upon Armenian dispersion and political
fragmentation in the region at the time. Because of Armenian
emigration, other groups began entering the area, resulting in
cultural integration among Armenians and the neighboring Georgians,
Turks, and Kurds.
While they were not the dominant culture in the region, La Porta
pointed out that Armenians were able to both adapt to their changed
environment and create a sense of community to keep the nation
together during a time of cultural hybridity. In reaction to this
hybridity, ~Sborders of barriers~T were created that emphasized
differences between these groups in relation to racial, economic,
religious, and dietary restrictions. ~SBy denigrating the other,
we get a clear distinction between who ~Qwe~R are and who ~Qthey~R
are,~T he explained.
Trade routes, the development of a cultic community, and the formation
of a textual community were integral to Armenian cohesion at the time.
The trade routes that passed through Armenia~Wincluding the
Mediterranean transit route, the Mongol silk route, and the Levantine
route~Wallowed the sharing of ideas across Armenia and helped
Armenians to create contact with the scholars, pilgrims, merchants,
and soldiers who traveled these routes. They also helped bolster the
Armenian economy.
~SIn the 13th century we witness increased economic prosperity,~T he
said. ~SHow come, at a time when there~Rs political fragmentation and
destruction, the economic situation doesn~Rt seem to be as negatively
affected? Part of the reason is you have all this capital moving
through Armenia, which is advantageous for the cities, especially in
eastern Armenia.~T
Armenia~Rs monastic centers also served as a bridge among the people.
During the 12th-13th centuries, Cilicia was the center of Armenian
intellectual activity, as it housed monastic centers and created
an intellectual group. ~SArmenians traditionally were not in urban
cities,~T said La Porta. ~SThey preferred hunting and feasting and
fighting in the beautiful countryside that is Armenia, and that is
where most of their monasteries were set up. These centers served as
important centers of cultural interaction and definition.~T
Scholars from Greater Armenia traveled to Cilicia to enhance their
education. ~SThese schools become primary centers of education for the
cultural and religious elite of Armenia,~T he said, noting that there
wasn~Rt a great degree of centralization among Armenians, and that
each monastery had its own traditions and rules. ~SA trans-regional
connection and a core curriculum were developed based on books,
sacred spaces, and certain texts, such as the Cappadocian Fathers,
Philo, and Aristotle.~T
The development of a cultic community also helped form connections,
especially the idea of pilgrimage sites, in particular Jerusalem.
~SPilgrimage sites served as points of communication and exchange,~T
he said. ~SYou have Armenians from all over converging on these
holy sites.~T
Although Armenians were able to maintain a sense of community
under difficult circumstances, La Porta pointed out that there were
challenges threatening this unity, in particular from missionaries
during the Middle Ages who traveled the trade routes near Armenia.
Franciscans and Dominicans friars converted tens of thousands of
Armenians to Roman Catholicism during this time, and while Armenians
kept their language, those who converted were in communion with
Rome and recognized the supremacy of the Pope. In response to these
attempts at conversion, the Armenian Apostolic Church fought against
the Latinization of the Armenian Church, and knew that a textual
community was, according to Dr. La Porta, ~Sessential for the success
of this response.~T
Concluding his compelling presentation, La Porta said there was ~Sa
new definition of Armenian communal identity through the creation of
shared communal and sacral boundaries and of an intellectual elite
built around a common textual corpus.~T There was a significance beyond
this period, and the cultural boundary markers that distinguished
Armenians from those around them, including religion and language, were
essential to the construction of an Armenian ~Snational identity~T in
the 18th-19th centuries. ~SThere are still ways Armenians are able to
connect to other Armenians even though they don~Rt live in one place,~T
said La Porta. ~SIt makes it capable for us to speak of an Armenian
community that extends from Glendale, Calif., to Yerevan, Armenia.~T
The evening concluded with a question and answer session followed
by a gift presentation~Wthat of a rare book on Armenian illuminated
manuscripts by Frederic Macler, a pioneer in the field of Armenian
Studies, to La Porta as a show of gratitude from the Armenian Board
at Columbia University. A reception gave guests the opportunity to
ask La Porta further questions about his research and Armenian history.
~SComing back to Columbia was a moving experience for me,~T he
said. ~SMy undergraduate experience has been essential for my continued
studies and research. To come back as a professor and speak to former
and current students was absolutely wonderful and brought back many
fond memories.~T
The Armenian Board at Columbia University was equally pleased at having
a prolific figure speak about Armenian identity and history on campus.
~SDr. La Porta~Rs lecture on the extensive trade and cultural
exchanges involving Armenians in the Middle Ages was a tour de
force,~T said Momjian. ~SDr. La Porta is a rising star in the field
of Armenian studies, and everyone privileged to hear his captivating
talk at Faculty House left asking when he was going to come speak at
Columbia again.~T
Echoing Momjian~Rs sentiments, Dr. Nicole Vartanian, the vice-chair
of the Armenian Center Board, said the lecture ~Sdemonstrated his
breadth and depth as a scholar and educator.~T
~SHis presentation was simultaneously ambitious yet accessible, and
the audience response was effusive. It was a great source of joy for
the Armenian Center to have hosted a room full of engaged attendees,
a range of Armenian and non-Armenian students, alumni, board members,
and community members.~T
Students, including Maxwell Rowles and John Doyle-Raso, who are both
candidates in the dual master~Rs degree program in international
and world history at Columbia University and the London School of
Economics, were also impressed with the evening~Rs presentation.
~SDr. La Porta~Rs lecture provided profound insights into Armenian
history and identity from the 12th-14th century,~T said Rowles. ~SI
particularly appreciated the precision of his approach and the ways
in which he made ~Qold~R history fun, new, and interesting. Economics,
language, politics, race, and religion were all remade and transformed
in Armenia during these years, and I am very grateful to Professor
La Porta for exposing this past to me.~T
~SI was impressed by Dr. La Porta~Rs enthusiasm and ability to
communicate a large amount of information so clearly,~T said
Doyle-Raso. ~SHis expertise is obviously far-reaching; I asked a
question that was outside the scope of the presentation, and he was
able to provide an interesting answer. I hope he will be back to
present again.~T
Upcoming activity for the Armenian Center at Columbia University
includes a course titled ~SMemories: The Armenian Genocide,~T planned
for the spring in Columbia~Rs Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian
and African studies (MESAAS), which will be taught by Board member Dr.
Armen Masroobian, chair of the Philosophy department at Southern
Connecticut State University.
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/12/18/la-porta-gives-talk-on-medieval-armenian-identity-at-columbia/