"War, Boarder and Culture": conference at YSU

Within the framework of the competition program "Young Researchers Research Support Program-2022" of the Higher Education and Science Committee of MoESCS RA, Haykuhi Muradyan, Assistant and Lecturer at the Chair of Culturology, YSU Faculty of History, along with a research team, conducted a research study on the topic "Community and Transformations of Public Cultural Space in Post-Soviet Armenia on the Example of Border Settlements". 

Members of the research team conducted field research for nearly two years, observing cultural changes in border settlements and considering the effects of war.

Project Manager Haykuhi Muradyan, referring to the importance of the research and the conference, noted: "The conference provides an opportunity to bring together on one platform the representatives of the scientific community addressing this problem, as well as the best specialists in the field. I think this is a crucial step to present the research outcomes, to learn about the issues related to the preservation of cultural heritage and the potential solutions."   

Although the research was conducted in the border settlements of Tavush, Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces, the geography of the reports presented at the conference is more comprehensive; the topics are related to the prospects, problems and preservation of cultural monuments on the border.

The other members of the research team are Nzhdeh Yeranyan, Assistant Professor at the Chair of Culturology, YSU Faculty of History, Anush Safaryan, an applicant at the same chair and a PhD student, Hamazasp Abrahamyan, a PhD student at the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography NAS RA. The consultant of the team is Professor Hamlet Petrosyan, Head of the Chair of Culturology at the YSU Faculty of History. 

Each team member pursued a distinct direction in their research. Haykuhi Muradyan studied the transformations of cultural structures during the Soviet and post-Soviet period, Anush Safaryan studied the transformations of the cultural landscape resulting from war, studying what new monuments and khachkars (cross-stones) emerged, on whose initiative, how they were installed and what changes the cultural landscape underwent as a result. The third member of the group, Nzhdeh Yeranyan, was engaged in researching the "destinies" of newly discovered monuments in the border settlements, taking into account the fact that people are unable to visit the monuments located very close to the border because of threatening danger. 

Consultant of the research team and Professor Hamlet Petrosyan, highlighting the importance of the conducted study and the conference, said: "I am happy to state that many young researchers have joined our experienced specialists in the scope of the research, which is proof of the continuous development of scientific mind. I attach great importance to the holding of this conference, as this is an opportunity to address the international scientific community and present the cultural heritage of Armenia."

The professor also pointed out that the preservation of cultural heritage should not be related to its origin, time period, ethnic and religious aspects; regardless of all that, it should be preserved.

At the conference, Mkhitar Gabrielyan, Dean of the YSU Faculty of History, Candidate of Historical Sciences, welcomed the attendees and noted that similar conferences are pivotal not only for the advancement of scientific and educational life but also for providing students with the opportunity to learn more about the preservation of cultural heritage and other related issues. 

The conference will continue tomorrow. Specialists from both Armenia and abroad make reports at the conference.