FRESNO–Dr. George Bournoutian, a visiting Professor of Armenian Studies at Fresno State, will be giving three public lectures on “ The Armenian Church Under Foreign Rule,” during the Spring 2009 semester.
All of the lectures will be held in Room 191 of the University Business Center on the Fresno State campus. Admission to all lectures is free.
The first lecture on “The Armenian Church Under Persian Rule: 1600-1800” will be held at 7:30PM on Tuesday, March 3, 2009. A welcoming reception will be held for Dr. Bournoutian from 6:30PM-7:30PM in the University Business Center.
Dr. Bournoutian will discuss the role of Etchmiadzin vis-a-vis the various Persian rulers after Erevan was conquered by Persia from the Ottomans. The political, social, and economic dealings of the Church with the Persian shahs and governors will be examined. The lecture is co-sponsored by the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research.
A vital source for the information of this period is Jambr, a volume compiled by Catholicos Sim?on of Erevan. Dr. Bournoutian has just published the first English translation, with extensive annotations, of this important work, as part of the Armenian Studies Series of Mazda Press. Jambr will be available for purchase at the March 3 lecture.
The second lecture will be held Tuesday, March 24, and the third lecture will be held on Tuesday, April 21. Details on these lectures will follow in a future article.
Dr. Bournoutian has extensive teaching experience, having taught Eastern European and Middle Eastern history at Iona College since 1989. He has taught as a visiting professor at Columbia University, New York University, the University of Connecticut (Stamford, Storrs, Hartford), Rutgers University, Tufts University, and Ramapo College.
Dr. Bournoutian is the author of seventeen books, and dozens of peer-reviewed articles in journals and encyclopedias, including the Journal for Iranian Studies, Encyclopedia Iranica, and the Journal for the Society for Armenian Studies. His latest books include Tigran’s II and Rome (2007), The Travel Accounts of Simeon of Poland (2006), and a Concise History of the Armenian People (revised and enlarged 5th edition) (2006).