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PRESS RELEASE
ARPA Institute
18106 Miranda St. Tarzana, CA 91356
Contact: Hagop Panossian
Tel: (818) 586-9660
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.arpainstitute.org/
ARPA Institute presents the Lecture/Seminar: "The Hemshin: Speaking
Armenian, Practicing Islam," by Mr. Hovann Simonian, on Thursday,
February 22, 2007 at 7:30 PM at the Merdinian School auditorium.
The Address is 13330 Riverside Dr., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403.
Directions: on the 101 FWY exit on Woodman, go north and turn right on
Riverside Dr.
Abstract: The Hemshin are one of the most enigmatic peoples of Turkey
and the Caucasus. As former Christians who converted to Islam
centuries ago yet did not assimilate into the culture of the
surrounding Muslim populations, as Turks who speak Armenian yet are
often not aware of it, as Muslims who continue to celebrate feasts
that are part of the calendar of the Armenian Church, and as
descendants of Armenians who, for the most part, have chosen to deny
their Armenian origins in favor of recently invented myths of Turkic
ancestry, the Hemshin and the seemingly irreconcilable differences
within their group identity have generated curiosity and often
controversy.
After a short introduction to the historical circumstances surrounding
the conversion of Hamshen Armenians to Islam and the subsequent
retention of crypto-Christian practices within the converted
community, the lecture will focus on the salient features of
modern-day Hemshin identity, organized around the somewhat
contradictory poles of allegiance to Islam and use of the Armenian
language. The presentation will be based on the recently published
volume edited by Hovann Simonian, The Hemshin: History, Society and
Identity in the Highlands of Northeast Turkey (London: Routledge,
2007).
Hovann Simonian is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political
Science at the University of Southern California. He holds an MA in
International Relations from the Department of Political Science at
the University of Southern California (1996) and another MA in Central
Asian Studies from the Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies at
the School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of London
(1997). In addition to various articles and book chapters, he is the
co-author of Troubled Waters: The Geopolitics of the Caspian Region
(London: I.B. Tauris, 2001/2003).
For more Information Please call Dr. Hagop Panossian at (818)586-9660
ARPA Institute
18106 Miranda St. Tarzana, CA 91356
Contact: Hagop Panossian
Tel: (818) 586-9660
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: http://www.arpainstitute.org/
ARPA Institute presents the Lecture/Seminar: "The Hemshin: Speaking
Armenian, Practicing Islam," by Mr. Hovann Simonian, on Thursday,
February 22, 2007 at 7:30 PM at the Merdinian School auditorium.
The Address is 13330 Riverside Dr., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403.
Directions: on the 101 FWY exit on Woodman, go north and turn right on
Riverside Dr.
Abstract: The Hemshin are one of the most enigmatic peoples of Turkey
and the Caucasus. As former Christians who converted to Islam
centuries ago yet did not assimilate into the culture of the
surrounding Muslim populations, as Turks who speak Armenian yet are
often not aware of it, as Muslims who continue to celebrate feasts
that are part of the calendar of the Armenian Church, and as
descendants of Armenians who, for the most part, have chosen to deny
their Armenian origins in favor of recently invented myths of Turkic
ancestry, the Hemshin and the seemingly irreconcilable differences
within their group identity have generated curiosity and often
controversy.
After a short introduction to the historical circumstances surrounding
the conversion of Hamshen Armenians to Islam and the subsequent
retention of crypto-Christian practices within the converted
community, the lecture will focus on the salient features of
modern-day Hemshin identity, organized around the somewhat
contradictory poles of allegiance to Islam and use of the Armenian
language. The presentation will be based on the recently published
volume edited by Hovann Simonian, The Hemshin: History, Society and
Identity in the Highlands of Northeast Turkey (London: Routledge,
2007).
Hovann Simonian is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political
Science at the University of Southern California. He holds an MA in
International Relations from the Department of Political Science at
the University of Southern California (1996) and another MA in Central
Asian Studies from the Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies at
the School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of London
(1997). In addition to various articles and book chapters, he is the
co-author of Troubled Waters: The Geopolitics of the Caspian Region
(London: I.B. Tauris, 2001/2003).
For more Information Please call Dr. Hagop Panossian at (818)586-9660