Day: October 17, 2023
“In Front of the Eyes of the World: The Memoirs of Setrak Timourian” book coverThe Armenian Studies Program announced the publication of “In Front of the Eyes of the World: The Memoirs of Setrak Timourian,” Volume 19 in the Armenian Series of The Press at California State University, Fresno. The book was translated by N. Ipek Hüner and edited by Vahé Tachjian, Yaşar Tolga Cora, Murat Cankara, and Barlow Der Mugrdechian.
“’In Front of the Eyes of the World’ is a valuable addition to the Armenian Series at Fresno State,” said Professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian, general editor of the Armenian Series. “The memoir sheds light on an important period of Armenian history.”
The significance of the memoir is explained in this excerpt from the editors, “Today, when we attempt to study Ottoman-Armenian history, to reconstruct the social landscape and daily life of Ottoman-Armenians through primary sources… memoirs like the one written by Setrak Timourian stand before us as shining beacons, illuminating our way forward.”
“In Front of the Eyes of the World” is an example of a genre of writing which has been under-studied. The manuscript is written in Armeno-Turkish, i.e., in Turkish using Armenian script. This was quite common among Turkish speaking Ottoman Armenians, but has since become a rare item.
Setrak Timourian sitting on his front porch in Pasadena, CA. c. 1920“In Front of the Eyes of the World: The Memoirs of Setrak Timourian” gives the reader a fascinating and detailed story of the life of Setrak Timourian, who was born in 1860 in Kayseri. He documented in a thorough manner, his life, the life of his family, and his many adventures. Timourian lived during an eventful period in Armenian and Ottoman Turkish history and thus provided insight into the life of Armenians.
The memoirs cover Timourian’s life from the 1860s to the 1930s, and stretches from Kayseri, to Istanbul, and Fresno, including his sojourns in Europe, in London and short stays in New York. His travels to Constantinople and then later to the United States chronicle his life as a carpet merchant and the many challenges that he faced. He also recorded his own views on the important events of the day. “In Front of the Eyes of the World” is an invaluable record of one man’s indomitable spirit and enthralling life story.
In February of 2022 the Ararat-Eskijian Museum and The Armenian Dress and Textile Project organized a special two-day, international hybrid conference “1860 Gesaria (Kayseri) to Los Angeles 2022: Mapping Culture & Sharing Stories,” an exhibit which highlighted the early 19th-century Armenian life and cultural history featured in Setrak Timourian’s memoir.
Copies of “In Front of the Eyes of the World: The Memoirs of Setrak Timourian” are available for purchase from: Abril Bookstore.
All of the books in the Armenian Series can be found here.
For bulk orders, please contact the Armenian Studies Program, at (559) 278-2669 or by email at barlowd@csufresno.edu.
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UCI Hosts Garo Paylan
The University of California, Irvine’s Center for Armenian Studies, in partnership with the Armenian Students Association and the Center for Truth and Justice, on October 16 hosted Garo Paylan.
The program began with a few words of welcome and introduction by the Center’s Director and Meghrouni Family Presidential Chair in Armenian Studies, Professor Houri Berberian, who recognized the audience’s presence on the ancestral and unceded homeland of the Tongva and Acjachemen peoples. She did so not in a performative way but because of its resonance and meaning for Armenians whose ancestral homelands, including most recently in Artsakh, are also unceded territory.
The hall exceeded its capacity as 120 members of the campus, including students and faculty, and the Orange County community attentively listened to Paylan’s message of unity as a path to strength and peace for Armenia and its newest refugees forced out of their homeland in Artsakh. Attendees imbibed Paylan’s message of unity in the face of an existential threat and welcomed his point of view informed by his inside knowledge of Turkish politics as a former parliamentarian (2015 – June 2023) in Turkey.
Garo Paylan with UCI students and faculty
In brutal honesty, Paylan emphasized the need to move beyond victimhood and recognize past mistakes and missed opportunities for reconciliation. He encouraged reassessing maximalist and inflexible stances, maintaining that Armenia has much more to gain by treaties and accords with its historical enemies/neighbors, such as Turkey, than by taking an unyielding approach.
After a long and spirited Q&A with some challenging questions, the program ended as eager attendees surrounded Paylan continuing the conversation and probing further. Whether they agreed or disagreed with all of his points, they seemed appreciative of his voice, position, and intervention.
Armenian Studies at UC Irvine includes undergraduate coursework in Armenian history and language, as well as a quarterly lecture series that bridges historical and cultural topics regarding Armenians worldwide.
To learn more about Armenian Studies at UCI, visit the website.