MEMBER NEWSLETTER ISSUE NO. 7 2015-16 American Research Institute of the South Caucasus Ian C. Lindsay A Word from the President We’re once again excited to tell you Also be sure to check out the section about the many important accomplishments on news items from you, our ARISC of ARISC’s members and fellows in 2015-16! members (p.2), including new books, awards, This 4th (and final) year of our 4-year grant job placements and other milestones! We’re through the US Dept. of Education saw excited and proud to share the great work continued accomplishments overseas. Our you’re doing, not only among our members, support of research in the region continues but also on our social media outlets. Keep to make strong impacts on the careers of us in the loop about your developments. junior scholars. I also invite you to read our “Notes ARISC-funded programs included here From Abroad” section to learn more about IN THIS ISSUE: have fostered partnerships between the most recent scholarship being American and local colleagues to improve conducted in the region by the next A WORD FROM THE research capacities in the South Caucasus. generation of SC scholars. We have made PRESIDENT 1 Indeed, fostering the development of several awards to graduate students and advanced research methods in the region junior scholars working in a variety of has been an important theme this year. Dr. disciplines. In this section Nat Erb-Satullo, a MEMBER NEWS 2 Alan Greene, post-doc at Stanford (now at recent Ph.D. from Harvard, reports on his NYU), armed with a Cultural Heritage study of ancient metallurgy in Georgia, and ARISC STAFF 3 Management Grant, collaborated with Natalja Czarnecki (University of Chicago) Armenian scientist Roman Hovsepyan to discusses fascinating ethnographic research NOTES FROM ABROAD 5 update and improve accessibility for the on the shifting social economics and safety Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography’s issues surrounding the outdoor food website (p.11); this kind of project—local- market (bazari) in Tbilisi. DONATIONS AND scale, but vital to the long-term health of I want to make special mention of a APPRECIATION 16 scientific institutions—is one that ARISC is formal external review of ARISC conducted uniquely positioned to support. by Dr. Christopher Tuttle (Executive Following the theme of capacity Director of the Council of American ORAL HISTORY SUMMER building, in May 2016 ARISC fostered a lively Overseas Research Centers) and Dr. Joanna SCHOOL 17 2-day GIS workshop in New York (p. 16) to Regulska (Vice Provost and Associate foster the growth of cutting-edge spatial Chancellor, and Professor of Women and analysis research methods across the Gender Studies at UC Davis). These EVENTS 18 sciences. Building scientific capacity takes prominent scholars traveled to the SC in time and patience, but the 20 scholars that early 2016 to gain an objective assessment took part in the workshop committed of ARISC’s progress and priorities. We were MEMBERSHIP themselves to future skills exchanges with gratified to receive a strong positive report INFORMATION 24 local partners in the SC to train young from the reviewers and excellent researchers in the latest data collection suggestions for growth directions and methods and technologies. funding opportunities that we are already INSTITUTIONAL One of the highlights of 2016 was an starting to implement. MEMBERS 24 Oral History Summer School (p.17) led by Our activities are made possible US and Georgian specialists. The program because of the hard work and dedication of trained Georgian scholars in oral history our overseas staff, Diana Lezhava, Susan CONTACT US 24 data collection strategies, which the Marukhyan, and Leyla Rustamli. Read more participants will employ to document about them on page 3 of the newsletter. memories of Georgia’s aging Soviet-era We all owe them our gratitude for helping generation. ARISC grow! Be sure to visit them when next you’re in the SC! PAGE 1 MEMBER NEWSLETTER ISSUE NO. 7 2015-16 News from ARISC Members ARISC Member and former Vice-President Congratulations to ARISC member Dr. William Fierman, who speaks some Stephen Riegg, who successfully six languages and is currently working on completed his PhD at the University of News of several others, was recently interviewed North Carolina Chapel Hill! His about the secrets of language acquisition. dissertation is titled, Claiming the Caucasus: ARISC The interview can be found at Russia’s Imperial Encounter with Armenians, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/life- 1801-1894. He is starting a position as an bilingual/201512/the-secrets-successful- Assistant Professor in the Department of Staff language-learner History at Texas A&M, College Station as of Fall 2016. We want to congratulate Leyla ARISC Member Dustin Gilbreath Rustamli, our Resident Director published an article about Georgian foreign ARISC President Dr. Ian Lindsay was in Azerbaijan, and her family on policy in the Washington Post’s Monkey recently featured in the local news for his the arrival of the newest addition Cage! Read the article at https:// work in Armenia using drones. Check out to her family, Melek! You can see a www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey- the report at http://wlfi.com/2016/09/14/ photo of Leyla and her beautiful cage/wp/2015/12/21/no-putin-is-not- purdue-anthropology-professor-looking-to- daughter, below. We wish them all winning-georgias-loyalty-away-from-europe- make-connections-to-old-societies/. the very best! here-are-the-facts/ Congratulations to Dr. Stephen Jones, ARISC Vice President, for being awarded the prestigious Ivane Javakhishvili International Scientific Prize. The award was made to Dr. Jones for his special contribution to Kartvelian studies. For more information, please see https://tsu.ge/ en/government/administration/ departments/pr/news/ dvicYW0ZQYPRhyrBl/?p=1 Ian Lindsay, a Purdue Associate Professor of Anthropology, flies a drone alongside colleague ARISC member Dr. Lori Khatchadourian Alan Greene from New York University. The Layla and baby Melek. Welcome to recently published a book, Imperial Matter: hilltop fortress of Aragatsi Berd is in the world, Melek! Ancient Persia and the Archaeology of Empires. background, with a modern TV antennae on top The book can be downloaded through the of it. (Photo provided by Project ArAGATS) University of California Press Open Access publishing program at http://dx.doi.org/ Congratulations to Keti 10.1525/luminos.13 Gikashvili and her family! Keti, ARISC Member and Vice President Dr. our accountant in Georgia, Stephen Jones was awarded funding by the recently had a beautiful baby girl, Shota Rustaveli Foundation for the “Oral Kato. Both mother and daughter History” project. The project was are doing well! submitted by Center for Social Sciences (applicant), ARISC (foreign partner) and Ilia State University (local partner). The project encompassed organizing a week long summer school in Georgia comprising of the methodological training on how to do research in oral history. Within the project, a call for participation was announced in late spring, and a total of twelve participants (MA and PhD students, junior scholars) were selected to be trained. More on the Oral History Summer School can be found in later pages of this newsletter. Do you have news you'd like to share about Keti and baby Kato. Our Imperial Matter: Ancient Persia and the your research or publications? Please let us best wishes for them! Archaeology of Empires. Dr. Lori know! Khatchadourian PAGE 2 MEMBER NEWSLETTER ISSUE NO. 7 2015-16 ARISC’s Representatives The people who make everything happen abroad Funding for these positions has been made possible by a grant from the US Department of Education Caucasus Mountains. Photo by Giorgi Bedianashvili. Susan Marukhyan Leyla Rustamli Diana Lezhava Armenia Representative Azerbaijan Representative Georgia Representative It is already my third year working with I am delighted to be in the ARISC team and take When people ask me what ARISC ARISC as its Armenia Branch Director. part in the implementation of ARISC’s critical does, I respond that it supports Throughout this time, we have been mission in our region. This year was memorable research in and about the South supporting the scientific research in and with the visit of the External Review group – Dr. Caucasus, provides scholarships, about the South Caucasus. Here I have Christopher Tuttle and Dr. Joanna Regulska to the organizes public talks and conferences, met a lot of outstanding researchers both region. I recall meeting them with pleasure as it among other programs. from overseas and within Armenia. Their opened new horizons for me. It was interesting to But most importantly, it connects interests differ, but they have a common see ARISC through professional, outsiders’ eyes. people from various backgrounds and goal of discovering the unknown and Furthermore their sincere conversations about research directions, creates a platform bringing answers to a lot of interesting scientific research in the US inspired me to restart for interaction and collaboration. questions which pertain to the geographic my own PhD research with new passion. One of Being part of ARISC activities and its location where I live. the things I love about being part of ARISC is this: it brilliant staff is a privilege. I am grateful I enjoy working for ARISC, because this gives opportunity to know people which otherwise for having the opportunity to work in is the place for new ideas and an endless I hardly would meet elsewhere. this wonderful environment and to knowledge source. ARISC operates in a challenging environment in meet great people. I truly believe that Susan Marukhyan is a public relations and the Caucasus and I believe that this makes ARISC ARISC’s contribution in building the public education specialist based in Yerevan, activities even more paramount.