Community and Public Outreach by Oxford Armenian Studies Academics

OXFORD (03.03.2014)  In addition to offering a wide array of courses, lectures and seminars at Oxford, Armenian Studies academics have been active in bringing educational opportunities to the wider Armenian community. 

Last Sunday, two lectures were presented in Manchester and London.  Prof. Theo van Lint, Calouste Gulbenkian Professor of Armenian Studies, gave a lecture to the Armenian community in Manchester at the Holy Trinity Church.  Prof. van Lint discussed the connections of the themes of death and grace in Grigor Narekatsi's (11th c.) Book of Lamentation and John Donne's  (17th c.) Devotions upon Emergent Occasions.  The lecture was chaired by the parish's visiting pastor Fr Garegin Hambardzumyan.

In London, Dr Hratch Tchilingirian, Associate Faculty, gave a lecture on the issue of cultural production and maintenance in the Diaspora and used Armenian music from Komitas to contemporary rabiz as case study.  The lecture took place at "Hayashen" and was sponsored by the Centre for Armenian Information and Advice.  The previous week, Dr Tchilingirian gave a talk on "Armenians in the Middle East Today" at the Faculty of Divinity in Cambridge. 

On the same day, Dr Özlem Galip, Faculty Associate in Kurdish and Armenian Studies, was guest commentator on Med Nuce's  "Medya Gundemi" (Media Agenda) programme, which provided analysis of current affairs in Turkey. Dr Galip's (PhD Kurdish Studies, University of Exeter, 2013) current research focuses on the origin and development of the Kurdish novel in Armenia. She teaches Kurmanji and convenes, together with Professor Theo van Lint,  the Kurdish Studies Seminar at Oxford.

In late February, David Zakarian, a PhD Candidate in Armenian Studies at Oxford, gave the second of a three-lecture series sponsored by the Armenian Institute. On 20 February Mr Zakarian spoke about "Women and the Christianisation of Armenia" at Armenian House in London. The lecture expounded on the role of women in the received tradition of the Christianisation of Armenian people as preserved in Agathangelos’ History of Armenia. 

Oxford Armenian Studies is based in the Oriental Institute and at Pembroke college. While Oxford has long history of interest in Armenia and Armenians, a Chair of Armenian Studies was formally established in 1965 by the Gulbenkian Foundation.