Visit Your Motherland and Earn University Credit!

By: Christine Kojayan
Bruingirl0021@ucla.edu

When asked about what he wants this summer study abroad program to instill in its participants, Dr. Gregory E. Areshian replies, “To fall in love with archeology, particularly with Near-Eastern archeology, and to understand Armenian arts and culture on a much deeper level.”

Dr. Gregory E. Areshian, head of the study abroad program in Armenia this summer, first taught at UCLA in 1993 as a visiting professor in the History department. He has lectured at various academic institutions, such as the University of Wisconsin and the University of Chicago. In 2001, he returned to UCLA and has been teaching here ever since.

Dr. Areshian introduces Armenia to this study abroad program for two key motives. The first reason is mainly because Armenia has a lot to offer students who wish to pursue an education in the areas of the Arts and Humanities, especially from the perspectives of cultural history, archeology, history, folklore, and literature.

The second reason is that it is always better to study on location, which is much more interactive than plainly studying from books. “It was quite easy to organize,” Areshian states, “because it is the one country outside of Europe and North America that has the best infrastructure, good service, an increased level of safety, and good archeological work.”

This course will prove to be quite enrichening on a multi-faceted level. Not only will it introduce students to archeological studies in the field, but will also attempt to acquaint them with a theoretical basis and practice of field methods, and will provide them with working knowledge of excavations, lab work, and field cataloging methods.

Students will finish this program with erudite knowledge regarding the Armenian culture and heritage, and also Near Eastern archaeology and history. Through fieldwork, they will be able to illustrate the interdependence and practical interactions between various social and natural sciences and the humanities. The participants will be skilled in critical analytical thinking of the study of cultural heritage, the role it plays in contemporary societies, and its influences on the future of humankind.

From a general outlook, students will be visiting various significant cultural sites and museums. Some areas of interest that will be visited are Dvin, Garni, Geghart, Echmiadzin, Lake Sevan and its monasteries, Aygevan, and Oshagan.

The participating students will be given the opportunity to interact and socialize with many Armenian inhabitants through arranged informal meetings with Armenian students from different institutions of higher education, particularly from Erevan State University, and by living with Armenian families who reside near some of the excavations.

On a lighter note, any student that is enrolled into an institution of higher education is qualified, whether it is a four-year university or a community college. This opportunity is not restricted to any major or minor and its duration is five weeks. During this five-week period, students will earn a total of twelve units.

“Part of the tuition that students pay essentially gets impacted to us, so that money goes back to them in order for them to stay in Armenia,” says Dr. Areshian. UCLA is the most inexpensive field school that you will find in the United States.

Anyone interested? You should be! There are only four spots left and the deadline to enroll is May 13th. Visit your motherland and learn more about it. So hurry up and sign up for this event that you will not want to miss out on.