Nzhdeh Yeranyan to Speak on “Shattered Heritage: Museums and Cultural Loss in the Artsakh War” at NAASR

BELMONT, MA — The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) will host a hybrid (in-person and online) illustrated lecture by Dr. Nzhdeh Yeranyan of the History Museum of Armenia titled “Shattered Heritage: Museums and Cultural Loss in the Artsakh War,” on Thursday, March 20, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern) / 4:30 (Pacific), at the NAASR Vartan Gregorian Building, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA.

The program is being held under the auspices of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) / Calouste Gulbenkian Lecture Series on Contemporary Armenian Issues and is co-sponsored by the Mashtots Chair in Armenian Studies at Harvard University, the Armenian Museum of America, and the Society for Armenian Studies (SAS).  It is open to all free of charge, and a reception will follow the program.

This will be an in-person event and also presented online live via Zoom (Registration: https://bit.ly/41ipi0R) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/c/ArmenianStudies).

The impact of the 2020 Artsakh War and the 2023 forced expulsion on the region’s cultural heritage, especially its museums, was devastating. Over 40 state and private museums and their collections were left behind in areas now controlled by Azerbaijan (including the Stepanakert Museum, the entrance to which is shown above).

This presentation will highlight the deliberate targeting of cultural and educational institutions during the conflict, emphasizing that such actions constitute war crimes under international law. It will also explore the critical role these museums played in community life and reflect on the heightened vulnerability of museums, as their collections—unlike immovable heritage—cannot be remotely monitored. Finally, the presentation will address the ongoing challenges facing these museums and the broader implications of cultural loss.

Dr. Nzhdeh Yeranyan is a cultural anthropologist specializing in the preservation and management of cultural heritage, particularly in crisis, conflict, and post-conflict situations. His research focuses on the colonial and postcolonial archaeology of Armenia, the Bronze-Iron Age landscape, and the preservation of the cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the protection of museums and collections. He is the Deputy Scientific Director of the History Museum of Armenia, Lecturer in the Department of Cultural Studies at Yerevan State University, and is currently a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Cornell University.