ARMENIAN STUDIES ACADEMIC PROGRAM FLOURISHES IN FIRST 20 YEARS AT CSUN.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer

NORTHRIDGE - Over nearly a quarter century, CSUN has quietly become a magnet for Armenian studies.

The college's 20-year-old Armenian studies program today includes more than a dozen courses and draws about 200 students a year. Students can complete a minor, a concentration for liberal studies majors, and as of this fall, a certificate in Armenian studies. Eventually, California State University, Northridge, would like to offer a bachelor's degree.

``Armenians have this tenacity to maintain their culture,'' said Hermine Mahseredjian, founder and director of the college's Armenian studies program. ``Most Armenians are in the San Fernando Valley, and it is a natural place to feel at home, away from home.''

Nearly 400,000 Armenians make their home in the San Fernando Valley and nearby communities and more than 3,000 Armenian students attend CSUN - about 10 percent of the student body and the largest concentration of Armenian students at a four-year-university outside of Armenia.

But the program also has become a draw for non-Armenians interested in linguistics and the Armenian culture, Mahseredjian said. Courses in the subject include five language classes as well as composition, literature, contemporary issues related to the diaspora and even one on the changing roles of Armenian women.

Students can visit Armenia through CSUN's cultural immersion program, and CSUN has an arrangement with Yerevan State University in Armenia to promote an exchange of students and faculty.

CSUN is one of the few universities in the state to offer an Armenian studies program for undergraduates.

The University of California, Los Angeles, offers an undergraduate minor, a master's degree and Ph.D. program in the studies.

While the University of Southern California recently created an Institute of Armenian Studies, its director, Richard Hrair Dekmejian, professor of political science, said it will function more as a research-oriented think tank than a formal degree program, although it will offer courses.

Learning about Armenia, which lies east of Turkey and is slightly smaller than the state of Maryland, encompasses a broad range of issues covering the country's long and often troubled 3,000-year history.

Beginning in 1915, the Ottoman government began a program of expelling and killing Turkey's Armenian population. More than 1.5 million Armenians were killed or died. Armenians consider the events a genocide, but the Turkish government maintains the country was at war and many from both sides were killed.

What was left of the country was eventually absorbed into the Soviet Union and Turkey.

The landlocked country was further devastated when a 6.9 earthquake in 1988 killed more than 25,000 and left another half-million people homeless.

Gor Vardazarian, 23, of Palmdale, president of CSUN's Armenian Student Association, said CSUN's program helps raise awareness of the country, which now functions as a democracy and has a population of nearly 3 million.

Marina Meserlian, 23, of Studio City said that even though she attended Armenian schools before coming to CSUN and is fluent in Armenian, she still learned new things in the Armenian studies classes.

``Now that I'm a little bit older, I look at it from a different angle,'' said Meserlian, a business major. ``It's good to keep the culture alive.''

Armen Carapetian, governmental relations director with the Armenian National Committee's Western office, said programs like CSUN's are a valuable resource, particularly in diverse communities like Los Angeles.

``It's a terrific thing any time cultures share their history and their experiences,'' Carapetian said. ``It's a very positive thing that other ethnicities, other people, are interested in learning something other than their own traditions and language, and I think it's a fantastic thing to be able to offer and provide that nourishment.''

Susan St. John, 43, of Moorpark said she took an Armenian studies course at CSUN after she met an Armenian professor at Moorpark College.

``I never knew any Armenians,'' said St. John, who is working on a teacher's credential and did her classroom observation work at an Armenian school. ``You learn to love and appreciate the culture from all the things I learned in the class and from my classmates.''

Lisa M. Sodders, [phone]

lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Young dancers of Armenian descent prepare to perform in the Armenian Mosaic Performance at CSUN on Saturday afternoon.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer