“Armenians and ‘Other Armenians’ in Contemporary Turkey”

Lecture by Dr. Hrag Papazian-“Muslim and Alevi Armenians”

FRESNO — Dr. Hrag Papazian, Kazan Visiting Professor in Armenian Studies, will present an in-person lecture entitled “Muslim and Alevi Armenians” at 7:00PM on Friday, October 7, 2022, in the University Business Center, A. Peters Auditorium, on the Fresno State campus. The presentation is the second in Dr. Papazian’s three-part series on “Armenians and ‘Other Armenians’ in Contemporary Turkey.”

This second lecture will be devoted to the officially Muslim and hence legally “non-Armenian” citizens of the Republic of Turkey who, drawing on their Armenian ancestors Islamized or Alevized generations earlier, identify as Armenians today. The talk will discuss the contextual developments that facilitated the unprecedented public “coming out” of such individuals during the last few decades, and examine these people’s understandings of Armenianness, their experiences in the post-genocidal context, and their relations with the Christian Armenians of Istanbul.

Dr. Hrag Papazian is the Kazan Visiting Professor of Armenian Studies at Fresno State. He earned his doctoral degree in anthropology from the University of Oxford (2020) where his dissertation about Armenians in contemporary Turkey was awarded the David Parkin Prize. His thesis also received an honorary mention in the Society for Armenian Studies Distinguished Dissertation Award competition (2017-2020).

The lecture is free and open to the public. Parking is available in Fresno State Lots P6 and P5, near the University Business Center, Fresno State. A free parking code can be obtained by contacting the Armenian Studies Program.

For information about upcoming Armenian Studies Program presentations, please follow us on our Facebook page, @ArmenianStudiesFresnoState or at the Program website, https://fresnostate.edu/armenianstudies.