ARMENIANS OF LEBANON VOLUME

The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) is pleased to an-nounce the publication of Armenians of Lebanon: From Past Princesses and Refugees to Present-Day Community. The volume, an undertaking of Haigazian University, is being distributed in North America by NAASR with NAASR’s Armenian Heritage Press as co-publisher. The book was officially launched in Beirut on April 9, 2010, and a U.S. launch, to be held at the NAASR Center in Belmont, MA, is being planned.
Armenians of Lebanon presents papers given at the September 2005 conference Armenians of Lebanon: Past and Present, held on the occasion of Haigazian’s 50th anniversary. The volume was edited with an introduction by Dr. Aida Boudjikanian, originally from Lebanon and pres-ently living in Montreal, and it contains papers in English, French, and Armenian. The confer-ence was organized by Dr. Ara Sanjian, then the Director of the Department of Armenian Stud-ies at Haigazian.
The hardcover book is 506 pages-long and has 14 chapters grouped thematically and chronologically in 8 parts. Seven chapters are in English, four in French, and three in Arme-nian—the languages in which the original papers were presented. Translated abstracts are giv-en at the end of the chapters. The volume contains biographies of the authors and photographs and maps.
Wide Range of Topics in Armenian History and Culture in Lebanon
Covering the full span of Armenian history and society in Lebanon from medieval times to the present day, the book is a unique repository of the rich culture and vitality of one of the most important Armenian diaspora communities. It provides a wealth of information for both the scholar and the layperson and is, of course, of particular interest for those with ties to Leba-non.
The first section of the book, “La Présence Arménienne au Temps des Croisades” con-tains a chapter by Claude Mutafian entitled “Les Princesses Arméniennes et le Liban Latin (XII-XIII siècle)” (“Armenian Princesses and Latin Lebanon, 12th-13th Century”), covering the mar-riages between French crusader lords and Armenian princesses. The second section, “Orphan and Refugee Period,” contains chapters by Hilmar Kaiser, “The Armenians of Lebanon During the Armenian Genocide,” drawing mostly on Turkish archives and in particular on Talaat’s telegrams sent to his administration’s officials or to Turkish army officials based in Lebanon and in the region, and Vahé Tachjian, “L’établissement définitif des réfugiés arméniens au Li-ban dans les années 1920 et 1930” (“The Permanent Settlement of Armenian Refugees in Leba-non in the Years 1920 to 1930”), which makes extensive use of the AGBU archives on the per-manent resettlement of Armenian refugees during this period.
The third section, in Armenian, contains Verjine Svazlian’s “Libananahay hayrena-dardzneru hamazhamanakeay ev tarzhamanakeay mshakutayin zarkatsune Hayastani mech” (“The Synchronic and Diachronic Cultural Development of the Lebanese-Armenian Repatriates in Armenia”), an ethnographic study of Lebanon Armenians, originally from Cilicia, who “repa-triated” to Soviet Armenia. The fourth section, “Music, Literature, Printing: A Few Facets of a Rich Artistic and Cultural Life,” contains chapters by Roubina Artinian, “Armenian Choirs in Lebanon, 1930-1980”; Nora Salmanian, “La contribution des Arméniens libanais à la vie musi-cale et artistique au Liban de 1920 à nos jours” (“Lebanese-Armenian Contributions to the Mu-sical and Artistic Life of Lebanon from 1920 to the Present Time”); Armen Urneshlian, “Arabi kerpare Libananahay grakanutean mech” (“Arab Characters in Lebanese-Armenian Litera-ture”); and Araxy Deronian (“The Armenians in Lebanon at the Library of Congress”).
The fifth section, “Les Arméniens au Travail,” contains editor Aida Boudjikanian’s essay “Le travail autonome auprès des Arméniens du Liban: entre la pratique d’une tradition com-munautaire et un concept des théories des diasporas” (“Self-Employment Among Lebanese Armenians: From a Community Tradition to a Concept of Diaspora Theories”), while the sixth contains Shoghik Ashekian’s “Libananahay gaghute ev Haykakan Tseghaspanutean hartse (1965-1975)” (“The Lebanese Armenian Community and the Recognition of the Armenian Ge-nocide, 1965-1975”) covering the Lebanese Armenian community’s quest for genocide recogni-tion.
Section seven, “The War Years (1975-1991) in Lebanon and the Various Roles Played by the Armenians of Lebanon and of the Diaspora,” contains a pair of essays: Rouben Avsharian’s “The Ta’ef Agreement and the Lebanese Armenians” and Khatchik Der Ghoukassian’s “Leba-non in My Mind: The Civil War and the Centrality of the Lebanese Armenian Community in the Making of Armenian Diaspora Nationalism.” The final section features Asbed Kotchikian’s “Between (home)land and (host)land: Lebanese Armenians and the Republic of Armenia” and Nicola Migliorino’s “The Lebanese System and Armenian Cultural Diversity Between Yester-day, Today, and Tomorrow: Opportunities and Limits.”
Armenians of Lebanon is available from NAASR’s bookstore for $35.00 (less 15% for NAASR members). Books can be purchased in person at NAASR, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478, or online at www.naasr.org. For more information contact NAASR at 617-489-1610 or hq@naasr.org.

PUBLISHED BY HAIGAZIAN UNIV. AND NAASR