2001_12 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper December 2001

              December 2001
Hye Sharzhoom
5
Cochrane Fellows from Armenia Study Enology
Barlow Der Mugrdechian
Advisor
Armenian enology students
Zaruhi Muradyan, Armen
Kakosyan, and Tigran Khachatryan
spent three weeks, September 23
through October 13,2001, at Fresno
State as United States Department
of Agriculture Cochrane Fellows,
specializing in wine-making. The
Cochrane Program provides funding for overseas agriculture students to study in the United States.
The Fresno State Viticulture
and Enology Research Center and
Department of Viticulture and Enology hosted the three, who are students at the Armenian Agricultural
Academy (AAA) located in
Yerevan, Armenia. The AAA is
the primary agriculture teaching
institution in Armenia.
Dr. Robert Wample, Director
of the Enology Research Center
and Chair of the Department, coordinated the activities for the students with the assistance of Helen
Chrisman, Cynthia Wood, and Department staff. Dr. John Shields,
Chair ofthe Agricultural Econom-
Left to right: Tigran Khachatryan, Armen Kakosyan, Zaruhi
Muradyan, Dr. Robert and Pam Wample at the Wample home,
preparing for an Armenian style dinner.
ics Department provided logistical
support and assisted in arranging
the Cochrane fellowships.
Muradyan, Kakosyan, and
Khachatryan received practical
knowledge in the Fresno State winery and participated in a wine crush.
Because Fresno State has the only
university-run and owned winery
in the United States, the students
were able to have first-hand training about the wine-making process.
The students took a variety of
courses, such as Wine Analysis and
Production taught by Professor Ken
Fugelsang and a wine bottling
course. They attended the Enology
Society's Wine Tasting featuring
Zinfandel from various regions and
vintages.
Practical experience was important in the training program, so
the group visited the Central California wine grape-growing region.
Visits to wineries such as the Eberle
Winery, the Bryon Vineyard and
Winery, Paul Masson Cellars, and
Quady Winery also enhanced their
practical knowledge.
They heard presentations by
Dr. Roy Thornton "Biotechnology
in Winemaking," Dr. Sanliang Gu,
Dr. Nick Dokoozlian "Sunlight:
Friend or Foe to Quality Wine
Grapes," and Dr. Barry Gump.
While in Fresno, the students
from Armenia met and became
friends with students from the Enology program. They traveled together to various wineries throughout the state. The Armenian Cuisine Restaurant of Fresno became
a home away from home for the
students, providing food and hospitality. Mr. Patrick Balakian of
Fresno also provided hospitality
for the students.
Among the many activities that
the students participated in was a
Fresno State football game, an Armenian Studies Program lecture in
October, and a visit to the E & J
Gallo Winery where they toured a
test stand, crusher and the plant.
They visited the Bay Area, including a trip to Rosenblum Cellars in Alameda and visited San
Francisco, where they saw many of
the city's attractions such as Golden
Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and
Fisherman's Wharf.
The 3-day celebration of
Sonoma County's fine wines,
foods, and rich agricultural heritage are part of the 2001 Sonoma
County Harvest Fair which
Muradyan, Kakosyan, and
Khachatryan enjoyed greatly.
After returning to Fresno, a
culmination event was a dinner at
the home of Dr. Robert and Pam
Wample, where the students from
Armenia prepared an authentic Armenian meal for the many friends
that they had made during their
stay in Fresno.
The three students returned to
Armenia enriched by their stay in
Fresno and unanimously agreeing
that a return visit was a must.
Dr. Hewsen Gives 2nd Lecture on Christianization of Armenia
Anne Visser
Staff Writer
Dr. Robert Hewsen, the Henry
S. Khanzadian Kazan Visiting Professor for the Armenian Studies
Program delivered his second of a
three-part lecture series on "The
Conversion of Armenia to Christianity" on Thursday, November 1.
Dr. Hewsen's lecture entitled "The
Conversion of King Trdat: Reading Between The Lines" detailed
the early 4th century king's life and
his conversion by St. Gregory the
Illuminator as based on the account
recorded by the Armenian chronicler Agathangelos. The lecture also
detailed modem scholars' identification of discrepancies wjTh the
work and Dr. Hewsen's own interpretations of the historical document.
Agathangelos' account of the
conversion has become the traditional historical account ofthe conversion of King Trdat. It tells of a
traitor known as Anak, who was
employed by the Persian king to
assassinate the King Trdat's father.
As punishment for his crime, Anak
and his family were slain. Only one
son, Gregory, was saved from death
and for his protection was taken to
Caesarea and raised as a Christian.
Gregory returned to Armenia
and served as a Christian at the
royal court. He was discovered by
the king and cast into a pit, where
he survived for fifteen years. For
years under King Trdat's rule, persecution of Christians ran rampant.
As retribution for these sins, King
Trdat was transformed into a wild
beast. His sister Khosrovidukht had
a dream in which an angel told her
to release Gregory from his years
of isolation in the deep pit. After hi
release, Gregory transformed the
king back to human form and then
baptized King Trdat and his entire
household. Thus, according to
Agathangelos, King Trdat in 301
AD proclaimed Christianity the sole
state religion of Armenia and a
mass conversion of the Armenian
people followed.
A crowd of more than 75
people assembled in the Alice Peters Auditorium on campus, and sat
captivated throughout the lecture.
Professor Hewsen gave an eloquent
description of a modem scholar's
ideas about the discrepancies of
Agathangelos' account ofthe conversion. The audience listened with
interest as Dr. Hewsen himself interpreted Agathangelos' accountas
a way to define the circumstances
of the conversion of the king and
not as an eyewitness account to the
event.
The impact of this lecture on
audience members was evident in
remarks made after the lecture.
Words such as "enlightened," "exemplary," "awesome," and "praiseworthy" were used to describe Dr.
Hewsen's lecture. When asked to
share her thoughts on the lecture,
Jayne Dangerfield, a student at
Fresno State, said "I didn't know
what to expect, I came to this lecture after seeing a news brief about
it in The Collegian. I never expected to be so intrigued by the
subject matter. Dr. Hewsen was
really passionate about the subject
matter he presented." Another
audience member said, "I never
really expected Dr. Hewsen to go
into such detail on the various dis-
Dr. Robert Hewsen, left, signing copies of his new book
Armenia: A Historical Atlas.
crepancies in the work of
Agathangelos' historical account,
I thought it was really interesting to
Photo by Dikran Chekian
hear and I appreciate that they were
presented in a way that was easy to
understand."
Dr. Hewsen's three part lecture series on the Conversion of
Armenia offers a view into his
course "The Conversion of Armenia to Christianity" which is being
offered this fall at California State
University, Fresno. It is the only
course on the conversion of Armenia to Christianity being offered at
a university in the United States
this year.
In the third part of the lecture
series, "The Conversion ofthe Armenian People," Dr. Hewsen will
address the conversion ofthe common people of Armenian, leading
to the establishment of Christianity
as the national faith.
That lecture will be held at
7:30 PM on Thursday, December
6,2001, in the Alice Peters Auditorium on campus.
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