SAS to Hold Major International Conference on the Armenian Diaspora at UCLA

LOS ANGELES — Scholars from Italy, Mexico, France, Armenia, England, Portugal, Holland, Germany, and the United States will gather on October 12-13 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to participate in a major conference, “Diaspora and ‘Stateless Power’: Social Discipline and Identity Formation across the Armenian Diaspora during the Long Twentieth Century,” marking the 45th anniversary of the founding of the Society for Armenian Studies. The two-day conference also honors Khachig Tölölyan, the preeminent scholar of Diaspora Studies in general and the Armenian Diaspora in particular.

The conference is free and open to the public and will take place in Rolfe Hall, Room 1200 on the UCLA campus. Paid parking will be available in Parking Structure 5, at Sunset and Royce Aves.

The Conference is co-sponsored by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Richard Hovannisian Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History (UCLA), the Narekatsi Chair in Armenian Studies (UCLA), the Meghrouni Family Presidential Chair (University of California, Irvine), the Institute of Armenian Studies (University of Southern California), the Armenian Studies Program (California State University, Fresno), the Armenian Studies Program (California State University, Northridge), and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR).

The themes covered during the conference include Armenian Immigrants in the Transnational Context, Social Memory and Cultural Production in the Armenian Diaspora; Institutions, Governmentality and the Shaping of Armenian Diasporic Diversities; Armenian Communities in the Middle East, and (Soviet) Armenian-Diasporic Relations. A special panel is dedicated to the Armenian Diaspora Survey Project organized by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Khachig Tölölyan will deliver the keynote speech entitled “From the Study of Diasporas to Diaspora Studies.”

For the complete Conference program go to the SAS website at: SAS Diaspora Conference Program