Courses in Armenian Studies (Division 322)

Armenian Literature and Culture in English

274(Slavic 221)/AAPTIS 274. Armenia: Culture and Ethnicity. (3). (HU).
This course explores various aspects of the Christian Armenian identity, from the earliest times to the 1990s, against a historical and political background, with a greater emphasis on the more modern times. It highlights the formation of the Armenian self-image; its principal features (political, religious, cultural); and its historical evolution in a multi-religious and multinational region that has undergone territorial and cultural transformation.

287/Hist. 287. Armenian History from Prehistoric Times to the Present. (3). (Excl).
Explores the social and intellectual history of the Armenian people from their origins as a nation to the present day. Emphasis is placed on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the revolutionary movement, the establishment of an independent, then Soviet, and again independent Republic, and the cultural achievements of the Armenians in the last two centuries.

415/AAPTIS 471. The Roots of Christian Armenian Tradition: An Introduction to Old Armenian Literature. (3). (Excl).
This course attempts to bring to light and define the vital tenets that formed the foundations of the Christian Armenian Tradition, as formulated by the historians and intellectuals Koriun, Agathangelos, Yeznik, Pavstos Buzand, Yeghishe and Movses Khorenatsi.

416/AAPTIS 472. Continuity and Change: Armenian Literature of the 10th-18th Centuries. (3). (Excl).
This course outlines a history of Armenian literature from about the 10th to about the 18th century, concentrating on the works of such authors as: Grigor Narekatsi, Nerses Shnorhali, Hovhannes and Kostandin Erznkatsi, Frik, Nahapet Kuchak, Sayat-Nova and others, who flourished within and without Armenia.

417/AAPTIS 473. Struggle for Nationalism: An Introduction to Modern Armenian Literature. (3). (Excl).
Focuses on some major trends in the Armenian literary tradition of the 19th and the early 20th centuries, and on the ways in which it helped redefine the Armenian self-image in political, social, and cultural terms.

418/AAPTIS 474. The Post-Genocide Literature of the Armenian Dispersion. Permission of instructor. No knowledge of Armenian is required. (3). (Excl).
Following the Armenian genocide the Armenian communities of France, the United States and the Middle East (mainly Lebanon, Syria and Egypt) emerged as the major centers of Armenian literary activities, where the few authors who had survived and a younger generation of writers fashioned a new literary tradition under the pervasive influence of the genocide. This course highlights some of the ways in which these authors tried to understand the genocide and to deal with its devastating consequences which at once inspired and limited their literary imagination.

419/AAPTIS 475. The Old Soul of a New Nation: An Introduction to Soviet Armenian Literature. (3). (Excl).
The establishment in 1920 of the Soviet regime in Eastern Armenia wrought profound changes in an essentially traditional society. The impact of external and internal Soviet policy on Soviet Armenia on the latter's relations with the Armenian dispersion, forms the historical background for the course. Focus is on the response of earlier and contemporary generations of Soviet Armenian writers to the new system, its ideology and its social-cultural tenets, and, on the consequences of recent political and social changes in the Soviet Union in general and Soviet Armenia in particular.

535/Hist. 535. Armenia and the Armenians in the 20th Century. Armenian 287 recommended but not required. (3). (Excl).
An in-depth investigation of the history of the Armenian people in the last century, especially the period of the massacres in the Ottoman Empire and the rebuilding of Armenian society in the Soviet Union.

Language Courses

171/AAPTIS 171. First-Year Armenian. (4). (LR).
Introduction to the structure of contemporary standard Armenian, with exercises in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. A balanced approach giving equal emphasis to the development of language skills and the study of Armenian culture.

172/AAPTIS 172. Western Armenian, II. Armenian 171. (4). (LR).
Introduction to the structure of contemporary standard Armenian, with exercises in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. A balanced approach giving equal emphasis to the development of language skills and the study of Armenian culture.

173/AAPTIS 173. Intensive First-Year Western Armenian. (LR).
Combines 171/172 in an intensive half-term. Introduction to the structure of contemporary standard Western Armenian. Exercises in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. A balanced approach giving equal emphasis to the development of language skills and the study of Armenian Culture. Books, tapes.

181/AAPTIS 181. First-Year Eastern Armenian. (4). (Excl).
This course is designed for beginners with no previous knowledge of Eastern Armenian (the state language of Armenia). Reading, writing, listening, and speaking are equally emphasized.

182/AAPTIS 182. Eastern Armenian, II. Armenian 181. (4). (Excl).
This course is a continuation of Eastern Armenian (the state language of Armenia). Reading, writing, listening, and speaking are equally emphasized.

183/AAPTIS 183. Intensive First-Year Eastern Armenian. (8). (Excl).
Designed for beginners with no previous knowledge of Eastern Armenian. Combines 181/182 in an intensive half-term. Reading, writing, listening, and speaking are equally emphasized.

271/AAPTIS 271. Intermediate Western Armenian, I. Armenian 172 or 173. (4). (LR).
The course is a continuation of Armenian 171/172. Reading, conversation, and composition. A balanced approach giving equal emphasis to the development of language skills and the study of Armenian culture is employed.

272/AAPTIS 272. Intermediate Western Armenian, II. Armenian 271. (4). (LR).
The course is a continuation of Armenian 171/172. Reading, conversation, and composition. A balanced approach giving equal emphasis to the development of language skills and the study of Armenian culture is employed.

478/AAPTIS 478. Classical Armenian I. (3). (Excl).
Designed for students with no previous knowledge of Classical Armenian. Emphasis is on grammar and reading of classical and medieval Armenian texts.

479/AAPTIS 479. Classical Armenian II. Armenian 478. (3). (Excl).
Designed for students with no previous knowledge of Classical Armenian. Emphasis is on grammar and reading of classical and medieval Armenian texts.

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