2004_05 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper May 2004

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Hye Sharzhoom
May 2004
Weekend Armenian Painting Course
Lto R: Joseph Dobbins, Cindy Holliday, Ms. Garcia, Tatevik Ekezian,
Dr. Dickran Kouymjian, Azniv Orinakyan, Tiffany Balakian, Angela
Quintana, Alex Bunch, Sevag Tateosian, Nyrie Karkazian, Ara
Nalbandian, and Zhanna Bagdasarov.
Alex Bunch
Staff Writer
For three intense weekends,
twenty students spent their Friday
afternoons and Saturdays in a class,
Armenian Studies 121-"Armenian
Miniature Painting." Dr. Dickran
Kouymjian, Berberian Professor of
Armenian Studies at Fresno State
and Director of the Armenian Studies Program, taught the course.
The class had many interesting
discussions about Armenian painting. Students learned that the
themes of Armenian miniature
painting were based on the Bible,
especially on the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Students had the opportunity to see
many ofthe scenes portrayed in the
four gospels, including The Resurrection of Jesus, The Annunciation
of Jesus,The Adoration of the Magi,
and a personal favorite, The Nativity. One of the best parts of the
course was when students were able
to compare the same scenes in various manuscripts. Although the
scenes were iconographically simi
lar, they were at times portrayed
differently.
Students also enjoyed the class
in part because they had the opportunity to discuss class topics in an
on-line chat room. Dr. Kouymjian
said that he used this year's course
in Armenian painting, as well as an
Armenian Studies 20 course, as
experiments towards presenting at
least one course completely online starting next academic year.
To help in this process, the Armenian Studies Program web site will
be partially redesigned and the architecture and miniature painting
sections will be enhanced.
When asked what was his favorite part ofthe class, Dr. Kouymjian
said, "As always, the pleasure I get
from seeing students learn how to
identify miniatures of the Life of
Christ and how to describe the important elements in each based on
the gospel text."
Though I have taken many Armenian studies courses and am
myself an Armenian-Christian, I
am continually fascinated at the
depth to which the Armenian arts,
namely, painting, manuscript illumination , and architecture, were so
influenced by Christianity.
It seems that overall, everyone
enjoyed the class and learned a lot
about Armenian painting. "I enjoyed Dr. Kouymjian's class, and I
would definitely take another class
with him," said Nyrie Karkazian.
YSU Professors Visit Fresno State
Chris Tozll\n
Staff Writer
Earlier this March, Dr. Arman
Martirosyan   and  Dr.   Karen
Yeghoyan, business professors
from Yerevan State University
(YSU), visited the Fresno State
campus. The two professors spent
seventeen days in the United States,
almost all of these in Fresno. This
first trip to the United States for
both ofthe Armenian professors is
part of an ongoing cooperative business project between Fresno State
and YSU.
Arman Martirosyan
Over the last six years, Fresno
State faculty have participated in a
faculty exchange program with
YSU as part ofthe NIS College and
University Partnership Program;
both universities have hosted faculty members from the other university for multi-week trips. The
basic purpose of this project between the two universities is to
facilitate the transformation of the
YSU Faculty of Economics into a
modern institution, capable of competing on an international level in
the fields of business and economics.
Barlow Der Mugrdechian ofthe
Armenian Studies Program at
Fresno State is the project coordinator and works with key faculty in
the Fresno State Craig School of
Business to implement the project
goals. The more than ten Fresno
State faculty who have visited Armenia have returned with great
admiration for their colleagues and
for the quality of their work.
One of the greatest needs
Yerevan State University is the
mass implementation of technology. For example, electronic presentations were impossible at YSU,
due to a lack of equipment. The
project has provided the Faculty of
Economics with three computer
labs, two video projection units,
VCRs, and a television, in order to
partially fill the gap.
Another need of both the students and the faculty is textbooks
and newly published research
works. Neither is widely available, and the texts that students use
are usually older Russian textbooks , which are three or four years
out of print, and therefore often
provide either antiquated or irrelevant information. Fresno State
faculty have assisted in this area by
donating modern textbooks, which
can be utilized by the faculty in
Armenia.
Both professors explained that
the purpose of their visit was to
observe the teaching pedagogies
used by Fresno State professors
and to observe how technology is
used in the classroom. However,
one ofthe greatest benefits derived
from their trip was the chance to
spend time in the Henry Madden
Library on the Fresno State campus.   Though YSU does have a
large, well-rounded library, it carries little literature concerning micro- and macro-economics, the
mathematical model of economics,
the history of economic thought,
and psychological economics, all
fields of study taught by
Martirosyan and Yeghoyan.
When asked what each professor hoped to gain from his time at
Fresno State, Yeghoyan said that
he hoped to learn more efficient,
more technologically-based approaches to teaching. Martirosyan
said that he hoped to discover new,
innovative ways of teaching economics, and he was excited to receive greater exposure to a wider
variety of economics literature.
Karen Yeghoyan
The time spent in Fresno has not
only been beneficial forthe various
professors that have come from
YSU to Fresno State, but it is beneficial for the university as well.
Hye Sharzhoom, From Page 1
of the newspaper." He continued
by saying that, "opinion pieces are
an essential element in any publication." Conversely, Arisian explained that his favorite section of
Hye Sharzhoom dealt with the current on-campus news that the newspaper covered and other informative pieces, such as the regular updates on Armenia.
Next, the two men discussed
the personal benefit that each derived from being a part of the Hye
Sharzhoom legacy. Erysian said
that perhaps the greatest benefit was
"the pride we gained from creating
a quality publication on a consistent basis for so many years."
Arisian spoke ofthe practical benefit that he gained; one example
was the visual presentation skills he
gained while working on the
newspaper's layout, which he has
been able to utilize in the business
sector. He added that, from a journalistic standpoint, simply learning
about every aspect of creating a
publication has been beneficial for
him.
Later in the interview, Erysian
Bill Erysian
explained that Fresno State students
and faculty benefit from the quarterly Hye Sharzhoom because it
"ensures that Fresno State students
(and faculty) recognize there is a
consistent voice from the Armenian student population ofthe university." Arisian echoed this sentiment in his response, saying that
Hye Sharzhoom encourages a strong
Armenian presence on campus and,
at the same time, it adds to the
cultural diversity present at Fresno
State.
Both interviewees were also
asked to explain how the community as a whole benefits from Hye
Sharzhoom. Arisian said that the
Hye Sharzhoom provides a stable
source of information for the Armenian people, providing the community with a widespread information outlet.   A byproduct of the
Arakel Arisian
newspaper is that it also keeps the
Armenian community as a whole
in touch with the Armenian youth,
especially at the university level.
Erysian similarly stated, "Hye
Sharzhoom has always been a focus of interest in the Armenian
community, both locally and worldwide. The Armenian community
sees the publication as an essential
source of news and information
about the Armenian Studies program at CSU Fresno and about
issues affecting Armenians everywhere."
Atthe end ofthe interview, both
men spoke regarding the success
of Hye Sharzhoom over the last
twenty-five years. Arisian enumerated multiple reasons why the
newspaper has been successful:
Hye Sharzhoom has remained connected to both Fresno State and to
the Armenian Studies Program, it
has consistently received tremendous student support, the universality of the topics covered have
encouraged a broad reader interest, and the continual support of
both Dr. Dickran Kouymj ian, Haig
and Isabel Berberian Professor of
Armenian Studies, and Professor
Barlow Der Mugrdechian, have
enabled the students to succeed in
producing an impressive newspaper. Erysian, drawing the same
conclusion, concisely responded
that Hye Sharzhoom's long-term
success stems from "maintaining
its consistency and its commitment
to quality."
It is this "consistency and commitment to quality" that has indeed
given Hye Sharzhoom its strong
reader base and continual benefactor support; it has also given the
Armenian students on the Fresno
State campus a voice that extends
throughout the Central Valley and
to the whole world. It is to Hye
Sharzhoom's constant, unchanging presence that we say, "Best
wishes for another twenty-five
years!"
Currently, YSU is striving to meet
international standards, and its interaction with Fresno State in recent years has helped to serve as a
benchmark for improvement. The
university has already seen certain
changes, such as the addition of
new classes that are focused on
preparing students specifically for
the business world. Another great
improvement has been the
university's recent ability to provide internet access for the students
on campus.
The two professors also spoke
of the great difference in teaching
styles separating YSU and Fresno
State. While the Fresno State business program has meshed theoretical teaching with practical, real life
examples and hands-on training,
YSUhas followed the theory-based
Soviet model. The two professors
hope that they will gain a greater
understanding of how to use practical instruction, so that they may
utilize this pedagogy in their classes
back at YSU. The ultimate desire
of YSU is to provide a balanced
theory- and practice-oriented educational experience for their students.
By mid-March,Martirosyan and
Yeghoyan had returned to Armenia and were back teaching at YSU.
Yet their experience here at Fresno
State was very beneficial, better
preparing them to teach and to positively influence the lives of the
students at YSU.