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Houshamadyan Project Presentation at ALMA
byArmenian Weekly
November 23, 2012
WATERTOWN, Mass. - A large crowd gathered at ALMA on the evening of Nov.
15 to learn about a new and exciting variation on an old title, the
Houshamadyan project, presented by project coordinator Nora
Lessersohn.
Nora Lessersohn
Co-sponsored by ALMA and NAASR, the evening offered an opportunity to
hear about the creation of the project and its ongoing evolution.
Project director and chief editor Vahe Tachjian works from Berlin with
a small team of artists and researchers, joined together by the
internet. Gathering and posting information, images and sounds of a
lost world, the Houshamadyan team works to document the daily life,
customs, traditions, cuisine and environment of the Ottoman Armenian
communities pre-Genocide.
As Lessersohn pointed out, this is a young project and one which is
growing steadily and quickly, thanks to the great interest shown in
its work and the regular arrival of new material from its web-users.
Lessersohn herself became interested in the project through following
the thread of her own family history and the site now features her
research on Marash including a moving lullaby sung by her
great-grandfather. The lullaby illustrates the advantages of the web,
bringing the past to life.
The website shows a strong roster of international scholars associated
with the project as advisors and associate editors. Also important are
the designers and artists, under the direction of art director Silvana
Der-Meguerditchian, providing a lively and attractive site to explore.
A stimulating discussion followed Lessersohn's presentation with
members of the audience debating the priorities of Armenian studies,
both on and off the web. Passionate pleas were made for the
translation (into English) of the original Houshamadyan printed
volumes, most published in the first half of the twentieth century,
encyclopedias of another era. Others questioned why the present
Houshamadyan incarnation is raising money to publish a book so soon as
they are already having such a large and wide-spread impact through
the web. The project received praise and many expressed both interest
and support for the team and its work.
Nora Lessersohn is pursuing a MA degree in Harvard's Museum Studies
program and she serves as a Researcher and Project Coordinator for the
Houshamadyan Project (www.houshamadyan.org).
byArmenian Weekly
November 23, 2012
WATERTOWN, Mass. - A large crowd gathered at ALMA on the evening of Nov.
15 to learn about a new and exciting variation on an old title, the
Houshamadyan project, presented by project coordinator Nora
Lessersohn.
Nora Lessersohn
Co-sponsored by ALMA and NAASR, the evening offered an opportunity to
hear about the creation of the project and its ongoing evolution.
Project director and chief editor Vahe Tachjian works from Berlin with
a small team of artists and researchers, joined together by the
internet. Gathering and posting information, images and sounds of a
lost world, the Houshamadyan team works to document the daily life,
customs, traditions, cuisine and environment of the Ottoman Armenian
communities pre-Genocide.
As Lessersohn pointed out, this is a young project and one which is
growing steadily and quickly, thanks to the great interest shown in
its work and the regular arrival of new material from its web-users.
Lessersohn herself became interested in the project through following
the thread of her own family history and the site now features her
research on Marash including a moving lullaby sung by her
great-grandfather. The lullaby illustrates the advantages of the web,
bringing the past to life.
The website shows a strong roster of international scholars associated
with the project as advisors and associate editors. Also important are
the designers and artists, under the direction of art director Silvana
Der-Meguerditchian, providing a lively and attractive site to explore.
A stimulating discussion followed Lessersohn's presentation with
members of the audience debating the priorities of Armenian studies,
both on and off the web. Passionate pleas were made for the
translation (into English) of the original Houshamadyan printed
volumes, most published in the first half of the twentieth century,
encyclopedias of another era. Others questioned why the present
Houshamadyan incarnation is raising money to publish a book so soon as
they are already having such a large and wide-spread impact through
the web. The project received praise and many expressed both interest
and support for the team and its work.
Nora Lessersohn is pursuing a MA degree in Harvard's Museum Studies
program and she serves as a Researcher and Project Coordinator for the
Houshamadyan Project (www.houshamadyan.org).