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ARMENIAN STUDY CENTER TO DEBUT AT UCLA
Glendale News-Press (California)
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
June 12, 2013 Wednesday
Kelly Corrigan, Glendale News-Press, Calif.
June 12--An allotment of Armenian books and cultural artifacts linked
to the country's history and diaspora following the 1915 genocide will
debut at UCLA in the first permanent research program of its kind
at any major American university dedicated to Armenian archaeology
and ethnography.
The collection was given to UCLA with a $2-million gift from Zaruhy
Sara Chitjian to establish a research program that will serve as a
major resource for scholars around the world on Armenia's cultural
heritage, stakeholders announced this week.
Chitjian's gift will pave the way for more research projects related
to Armenian history and anthropology and fund public lectures and
graduate-student conferences.
"Studying the ethnographic artifacts of recent age is an important
means of understanding the past of this still thriving culture,"
Chitjian said in a statement.
Named after Chitjian's parents, the Hampartzoum and Ovsanna Chitjian
collection features letters and artifacts that will be housed at
UCLA's Cotsen Institute under director Charles Stanish.
"Each acquisition not only provides insight into a small portion of
this tragic but heroic drama, but also provides a window into dozens
of new questions and areas of inquiry," Stanish said in a statement
announcing the program.
Roughly 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks during
the Armenian genocide from 1915 to 1923 -- an event that destroyed
cities and cultural artifacts.
Chitjian's father survived the Armenian genocide, eventually making
his way to safety by walking through eastern Turkey.
"With the work at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, the Armenian
identity and Armenian people -- past and present -- can be respected
and appreciated for the contributions of their 3,000-year history,"
Chitjian said.
Glendale News-Press (California)
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
June 12, 2013 Wednesday
Kelly Corrigan, Glendale News-Press, Calif.
June 12--An allotment of Armenian books and cultural artifacts linked
to the country's history and diaspora following the 1915 genocide will
debut at UCLA in the first permanent research program of its kind
at any major American university dedicated to Armenian archaeology
and ethnography.
The collection was given to UCLA with a $2-million gift from Zaruhy
Sara Chitjian to establish a research program that will serve as a
major resource for scholars around the world on Armenia's cultural
heritage, stakeholders announced this week.
Chitjian's gift will pave the way for more research projects related
to Armenian history and anthropology and fund public lectures and
graduate-student conferences.
"Studying the ethnographic artifacts of recent age is an important
means of understanding the past of this still thriving culture,"
Chitjian said in a statement.
Named after Chitjian's parents, the Hampartzoum and Ovsanna Chitjian
collection features letters and artifacts that will be housed at
UCLA's Cotsen Institute under director Charles Stanish.
"Each acquisition not only provides insight into a small portion of
this tragic but heroic drama, but also provides a window into dozens
of new questions and areas of inquiry," Stanish said in a statement
announcing the program.
Roughly 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks during
the Armenian genocide from 1915 to 1923 -- an event that destroyed
cities and cultural artifacts.
Chitjian's father survived the Armenian genocide, eventually making
his way to safety by walking through eastern Turkey.
"With the work at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, the Armenian
identity and Armenian people -- past and present -- can be respected
and appreciated for the contributions of their 3,000-year history,"
Chitjian said.