This course will cover close to three millenia of Armenian history, from the process of ethnogenesis to the almost complete destruction of the Armenian "feudal" system by the end of the 15th century. This course is based on the broad framework of Armenian political history and institutions, but also emphasizes economic development, social change, and cultural transformations.

This course provides a survey of Armenian history from the earliest mentions of Armenia more than 2000 years ago up till the 1400s. Throughout the semester we will examine how the readings covered in this course challenge or conform to the boundaries set by conventional national historical narratives. We will ask questions about what makes and defines Armenian history. Who and what makes part of Armenian historical narratives? Who is missing from the existing narratives? Is Armenian history territorially bound to historic Armenia? Some of the main themes covered in this course will include the interaction of Armenian kingdoms with neighboring empires, the contact, and collaborations of Armenians with neighboring ethnic and religious groups, technologies of communication as well as the role of women and gender in Armenian history. We will explore various social, political, and economic transformations that both linked Armenians with their neighbors as well as differentiated them as an ethnic group. Students will be evaluated based on 10 short weekly reflections (400-450-word), a 10-page term paper as well as a podcast recording assignment. Instructor bio: Dzovinar Derderian received her PhD in 2019 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in the Department of Middle East Studies. Focusing on 19th-century Armenians of the Ottoman empire, her research explores the various circular processes such as migration, communication and participatory politics through which provincial Armenians engaged in national and imperial modernization. Both in her research and teaching she is interested in exposing the dispersed ways in which power functions and inequalities are shaped. She has taught World History, Armenian and Middle East history courses at the American University of Armenia, at the University of California, Irvine and at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills