2006_12 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper December 2006

              December 2006
Hye Sharzhoom
3
Cineculture Series Features Armenian Films
Staff Report
Fresno State's weekly
Cine culture Film Series spotlighted
films with an Armenian theme on
Friday, October 20. In addition,
four panelists were invited to comment on the films shown and to
answer questions raised by the audience.
Special guest speaker Vickie
Smith-Fostonof Sacramentojoined
Dr. Matthew Jendian (Sociology),
Barlow Der Mugrdechian (Armenian Studies), and Fresno State
graduate Bernadette Moordigian,
to discuss and comment on the two
featured films.
Araz Artinian's The Genocide
in Me, and J. Mchael Hagopian's
California Armenians: The First
Generation, were screened, with a
question and answer period immediately following.
Dr. Jendian opened the evening
with a power-point presentation,
serving as an introduction to the
films. He covered some early Armenian history, before focusing on
the reasons why Armenians immigrated in great numbers to the
United States, especially beginning
in the late nineteenth century.
Vickie Smith-Foston is the author of Victoria's Secret: A Con-
L. to  R.:  Barlow Der Mugrdechian,  Vickie Smith-Foston,
Bernadette Moordigian, and Dr. Matthew Jendian.
spiracy of Silence, which documents her discovery of her
grandmother's apparent identity
crisis that led to her tragic suicide
in the 1950s. Smith-Foston discussed the concept of identity and
how being part Armenian had affected her own life.
Moordigian commented on her
mixed Armenian and Mexican
roots, and how ethnic identity had
become a way for her to explore
both sides of her heritage.
Der Mugrdechian responded to
questions with comments on the
Turkish government denial of the
Armenian Genocide and how that
deni al had becom e part of T urkey' s
international foreign policy.
Many of the questions from the
audience were about the current
situation in Armenia, while others
were about the Armenian Genocide and the current efforts to pass
Genocide resolutions in various
countries.
Denise Blum (Curriculum and
Instruction) is the coordinator for
the CinecuTture Film Series, whose
purpose is to promote cultural
awareness and address diversity
issues through film and post-screen-
ins discussions.
Tom Bozigian To Continue Tradition of Armenian
Dance at Fresno State, February 2 and 3, 2007
CAiTLrN Tiftick
Staff Writer
At the early age of six, Tom
Bozigian beganlearning Arm enian
dances atthe old St. Paul Armenian
Church in downtown Fresno, California. Now, for the fifth time at
Fresno State, he will pass down the
tradition of Armenian dance in a
one-unit course on Friday, February 2 and Saturday, February 3,
2007.
The Armenian Studies Program
offers the dance course, which is
the only such course offered for
credit at a university in the United
States. Students of all majors are
welcome to register for the weekend and members of the community may participate as well for a
small fee of $75.
Instructor Tom Bozigian has a
wealth of knowledge in the area of
Arm enian dancing. He brings amix
of dances from different regions of
Armenia: on his mother's side
dances from the region of Kharpert
and on his father's side from the
region of Shirag.
Even at a young age, Bozigian
was fascinated by the style and
movements ofthe first immigrants.
By the time he reached 15, Bozigian
had learned many dances, representing six regions of both Western
and Eastern Armenia.
After attending the University
of Pacific Stockton International
Folk Dance Camp, Bozigian started
teaching Armenian dance and traveled the world performing Armenian dances both through Armenian and non-Armenian folk dance
organizations.
Later, Bozigian dancedcompeti-
tively between 1972 and 1975,
while studying dance at the State
Chore ographi c A c ademy in Arm e-
nia. He performed for an Amateur
Tom Bozigian with Armenian dance students from Spring
2004 class. Bozigian's new class will take place in 2007.
Ensemble and competed in various
festivals.
Currently, Bozigian continues
to spread Ann em an art through both
dance and music. He resides in Los
Angeles where he is the director of
an Arm enian Folk Orchestra, which
plays in the Southern California
area and at various functions. He
also teaches twelve-week dance
courses throughout the year.
Students will learn about and
dance some ten dances over the
two-day course. The dances will
come from a variety of regions including Kharpert, Van, Shirag, and
others. Most of the music for the
course has been recorded by
Bozigian.
The Armenian dance course is a
great way to expose students to the
traditions of the Armenian culture
both artistically and musically. By
taking the course, students will be
able to participate at local Armenian festivals, weddings, and other
events. All of the course participants will be able to take home
knowledge of the song and dance
history of the Armenian people.
Bozigian teaches Armenian
dance because he feels it is impor
tant to continue the cultural tradition by educating and teaching future generations.
"I am rewarded by the legacy I
hope to leave, just like my teachers
have been rewarded - my father,
grandfather, and uncle left songs
and dances with rich ethnographical and anthropological data that
are our duty to retain and pass on,"
said Bozigian.
So gather up your family and
friends and spend the weekend of
February 2nd and 3rd at Fresno State
learning Armenian dance from the
world-renowned instructor Tom
Bozigian.
For more information on the
Armenian Dance course and how
to enroll, call the Armenian Studies
Program at 559- 278-2669.
For more information on Tom
Bozigian, please        visit
w w w. bozi sian. com.
Armenian Studies Program
web page
http://
armenianstudies.csufresno.edu
2007-2008
Academic Year Scholarships
in Armenian Studies
https://scholarship.csufresno.edu/
Make sure to mark one of the areas pertaining to
Armenian Studies on the application
Priority Application Period:
September 1, 2006-November 30, 2006
For applications to be considered you must also complete the
special Armenian Studies supplemental form
which can be found at:
http://armenianstudies.csufresno.edu/schoIarships.htm
Fill out the form and turn it in at the ASP office,
Peters Business Building, Room 384.
For more information contact
the Armenian Studies Program at 278-2669.
SAS, From Page 1
University, "How to Mother a Nation: Perspectives from the Armenian Women's Journal Hay Gin
(The Armenian Woman) (1919-
1923)."
The final SAS sponsored panel
was on "Circulation andthe Global
Trade Networks of Armenian Merchants from Julfa, Isfahan," which
was organized by Sebouh Aslanian
and chaired by Razmik Panossian.
The panelists were Sebouh
Aslanian, Columbia University,
"From "Trade Diaspora" to "Circulation Society": The Multi-Nodal
Trade Network of the Jul fan Armenians in the Early Modern Period;"
FrancescaTrivellato, Yale University, "Business Cooperation Within
and Across Trading Diasporas: A
Comparative Analysis of Sephardic
and Armenian Merchant Networks
in the Early Modern Period;" Houri
Berberian, California State University, Long Beach, "The Sceriman/
Shahrimanians between Julfa and
Venice: Information Networks and
Commercial Prosperity of an Iranian-Armenian Family;" and
Bhaswati Bhattacharya, International Institute of Asian Studies,
"All the Milk and Honey of Spain
Flow to Manila: Armenians in the
Madras-Manila Trade in the 18th
Century."
The SAS was founded 32 years
ago in Boston by Dr. Richard
Hovannisian (UCLA), the late Dr.
Avedis Sanjian (UCLA), Dr.
Dickran Kouymjian (AUB andlater
Fresno State), Dr. Robert Thorn son
(Harvard), and Dr. Nina Garsoian
(Columbia). They set the foundations of a Society, which today has
m or e than 200 m em bers worl dwi de
and is the leading organization in
the field of Armenian Studies.
The SAS is dedicated to the development of Armenian Studies as
an academic discipline. It has as its
goals to promote the study of Armenia and all aspects of Armenian
culture; to promote the teaching of
Armenian subjects in educational
institutions; to promote the publication of texts in various fields of
Armenian studies; to organize and
sponsor conferences, symposia,
panels, and other forums pertaining to all aspects of Armenian culture and society; and to facilitate
the exchange and dissemination of
scholarly information pertaining to
Armenian studies through a program of publications, consistent
with the objectives of the SAS.
More information is available
about SAS and its programs by
contacting the SAS Secretariat, at
559-278-2669 or at the SAS home
page http://
armenianstudies. csufresno. edu/sas/
index.htm
California State University, Fresno
Armenian Studies Program
Armenian Studies 120T-
Armenian Dance
(Learn how to dance traditional Armenian dances)
conducted by
Tom Bozigian
Friday, February 2, 2007 • 5-10 PM
Saturday, February 3, 2007 • 9 AM-5PM
Meet in the South Gym, Rm. 134-Fresno State
Fresno State students enroll through
on-line registration.
The course is open to the public
for a fee of $75.
To register for the class contact the
Armenian Studies Program or
come to the first class session.
Contact the Armenian Studies Program, 278-2669,
for more information.