Event

The Middle East Film Festival has been CANCELLED due to the circumstances surrounding COVID-19. It is important to the Middle East Center that we respect and prioritize the health and safety of our community.

See here for Penn's COVID-19 response guidelines.

SPACE IS LIMITED: RSVP to bakrii@sas.upenn.edu REQUIRED

Join us for a workshop on the historical, cultural, and practical context of the Armenian Language. Workshop runs from 9:30 to 3:45, with lunch provided.

FRIDAY, APRIL 10

9:30 – 9:45              Pari Yegak: Welcome/Introductions

Deanna Cachoian-Schanz, Comp Lit, Penn

John Ghazvinian, Interim Director, MEC, Penn

9:45 – 10:30            Secularization and the Emergence of Ethnic Minorities in the Ottoman Empire

Christopher Sheklian, Director, Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center, NY, NY; Visiting Assistant Professor, Wesleyan University. 

10:45 – 12:15          Armenian Language Workshop, Part I: the ԱԲԳs

Ararat Şekeryan, Slavic Department, Columbia University

-       A Brief History

-       Easte՞rn v. Weste՞rn

-       Intro to Alphabet

-       Reading & Writing

-       Greetings/Group Practice

12:15 – 1:00           Lunch, prepared by the Penn Armenian Club

1:00 – 1:45             Armenians and the Turkish Language: from Medieval Mystical Poetry to the Ottoman Novel to Language Reform under Mustafa Kemal

Rachel Goshgarian, Associate Professor, Department of History, Lafayette College

2:00 – 3:00             The Armenian Musical Tradition from Anatolia to the Diaspora: Key Themes

Talk and Oud Performance

Raffi Joe Wartanian, Musician; Undergraduate Writing Instructor, Columbia University

3:00 – 3:45             Language Workshop, Part II

Şekeryan, Sheklian, Goshgarian & Cachoian-Schanz

-       Language Practice

-       Research discussion