Application of critical thinking to diasporic archive analyses: lecture at YSU

With the support of the Higher Education and Science Committee of the RA MoESCS, a remote laboratory of the Philosophy and Theory of History was established at YSU, the purpose of which is to research the Armenian paradigms of modernization referring to the study of the history of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This plan is drawn up for the next five years. The core activity of the lab is to find out how modernization happened, what challenges were faced, how the problems were solved, etc. Speaking about the activities of the laboratory, Davit Mosinyan, Head of the laboratory of the Philosophy and Theory of History noted that the foreign head of the remote laboratory is Kalle Pihlainen (University of Turku, Finland), who is one of the best specialists in history and philosophy and one of the main representatives of the schools with narrativist philosophy.

"One of the goals of the remote laboratory is to carry out research and publish articles on the obtained results in international periodicals, organize international conferences, etc. In parallel, we have set a task to publicize our activities, one of the steps towards which is the organization of lectures. For this purpose, we invited Karen Jallathian, an Armenian by nationality, who defended his doctoral dissertation at the University of California (USA). The core of his study is Ani as a lost city, and his research is mainly related to the Diaspora," said Davit Mosinyan.

During the lecture, Karen Jallathian referred to the diversity of Armenian and Diaspora film archives, presented what Diaspora cinema is. Referring to the importance of the topic, K. Jallathian noted that it includes several components: critical thinking, which is one of the important directions for studying culture, international philosophy and art, the Diaspora archive, problems of historicization, etc. He presented all this through the works of animators and film directors of the Diaspora.

"When we talk about Armenian cinema, it is necessary to differentiate Armenian archive from diasporic archive, however it is necessary to consider the diasporic archive in Armenian thinking; it is not a separate and independent phenomenon, but closely related to Armenian culture," the speaker emphasized.

He said that film, as an object of study, is gradually changing and developing, therefore a new methodology must be applied for conducting research in this direction.

Referring to the cooperation with YSU, K. Jallathian noted, "For me, this is a very important experience, because it is the first time that I give such a lecture in Armenia, and moreover, in one of the most important higher educational institutions- Yerevan State Univeristy. As a scholar of Armenian studies living and working in the Diaspora, the establishment of partnership ties and the strengthening of those ties are also of great importance to me."

Among the attendees at the lecture were students, postgraduate students, representatives of teaching staff, as well as other people interested in the topic.