Education

  • University of California, Los Angeles (2015 – to present)
    Ph.D. program in Armenian Studies
    Dissertation topic: “Jehovah’s Witnesses in Post-Soviet Armenia”
  • Yerevan State University, Armenia (Fall 2011)
    Eastern Armenian Language Course
  • European University at Saint Petersburg, Russia (2009-2011)
    M.A. in Cultural Anthropology
    Thesis: “The Armenian Diaspora in Saint Petersburg, Russia: Perceptions of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church”
  • Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia (2004-2009)
    B.A. in Russian History, Honors
    Thesis: “Armenians as a National Minority within the Host Society of the Yenisei-River Region, Russia”

Research

In English:

  • “Armenians in Saint Petersburg: Church Belonging as a Key Marker of Ethnic Identity,” in Armenian Christianity Today: Identity Politics and Popular Practices, Farnham: Ashgate, 2014

In Russian:

  • “‘Real’ and ‘Broken’ Armenians: Affiliation with the Armenian Apostolic Church as a Marker of Assimilation among Armenians in Saint Petersburg, Russia” in Armenia in the Dialogue of Civilizations, Proceedings of the International Symposium in Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia, 2011
  • “The Armenian Apostolic Church in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and its Role in the Maintenance of Ethnicity Among Armenians in the Krasnoyarsk Region” in the 75th Anniversary Collection of Articles, Krasnoyarsk Region: The Past, Present and Future, Vol. 2, Krasnoyarsk, Russia, 2009

Courses

  • Jerusalem: The Holy City
  • Religion in America
  • Holocaust in Films and Literature

Fields of Interest/Languages

Fields of Interest:

  • Armenian Studies
  • Sociology of Religion
  • Anthropology of Ethnicity and Nationalism

Languages:

  • Russian (native)
  • English (fluent, written and spoken)
  • Eastern Armenian (advanced spoken, advanced written)
  • Classical Armenian (intermediate)
  • French (elementary spoken, intermediate reading)