Levon Abrahamian

Armenian anthropologist and historian

Levon H. Abrahamian (Armenian: Լևոն Աբրահամյան; born January 2, 1947)^[1] is an Armenian anthropologist and historian.

Biography and career

Abrahamian was born in Yerevan, Soviet Armenia on January 2, 1947.^[1] He graduated from Yerevan State University (YSU) with M.S. in biophysics in 1970^[1]^[2] and from the Institute of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Soviet Academy of Sciences in 1978 as Candidate of Sciences in Cultural and Social Anthropology.^[2] He joined the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography at the Academy of Sciences of Soviet Armenia in 1978,^[3] initially working as a junior researcher until 1988 and then as senior researcher.^[1] In 2005 he headed the Institute's Department of Contemporary Anthropological Studies.^[1]^[3]

Abrahamian has taught at YSU since 1990.^[4]^[2] He has also taught as a visiting professor at the University of Pittsburgh (1994), Columbia University (2001), University of California, Los Angeles (2008), and University of California, Berkeley (1997 and 2015).^[2]

In November 2018 Abrahamian was elected president of the Board of Trustees of the Matenadaran.^[2]^[5]

Recognition

Abrahamian is a corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia (2006).^[1]^[2] In 2009 Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan awarded him the title of an Honored Worker of Culture.^[2]^[6]

Research and publications

Abrahamian's anthropological research focuses on ancient and modern Armenia and Armenians, including Armenian identity, comparative mythology, rituals, urban anthropology and the cultures of Australia and Oceania.^[1]^[2] He has authored five books and numerous papers.^[2]

His two English-language books, Armenian Folk Arts, Culture, and Identity (2001)^[7]^[8]^[9] and Armenian Identity in a Changing World (2006)^[10] received positive reviews.

Books

Abrahamian, Levon. Primitive Festival and Mythology (1983). Yerevan: Academy of Sciences of Armenian SSR Press (in Russian)
Abrahamian, Levon, and Nancy Sweezy, eds. Armenian Folk Arts, Culture, and Identity (2001). Indiana University Press
Conversations Near a Tree. Moscow: Languages of Slavonic Cultures, 2005, in Russian
Abrahamian, Levon. Armenian Identity in a Changing World (2006). Mazda Publishers ISBN 1-56859-185-3
Kharatyan, Hranush; Shagoyan, Gayane; Marutyan, Harutyun; Abrahamian, Levon. Stalinist Repressions in Armenia: History, Memory [Ստալինյան բռնաճնշումները Հայաստանում. պատմություն, հիշողություն, առօրյա] (2015). "Gitutyun" Publishing of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia (in Armenian)

Articles

"On Schneider's Symbolic Culture Theory", Current Anthropology, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Apr., 1980), pp. 255–256
"The secret police as a secret society: fear and faith in the USSR" Russian Social Science Review 35, no. 3 (1994), pp. 81–95.
"Typology of Aggressiveness and National Violence in the Former USSR", International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, Vol. 4, No. 3/4, (1996/97), pp. 263–278
"Lenin as a trickster" Anthropology & archeology of Eurasia 38, no. 2 (1999), pp. 8–26.
"The Chained Hero: The Cave and the Labyrinth", Iran & the Caucasus, Vol. 11, No. 1 (2007), pp. 89–99
"From Carnival Civil Society Toward a Real Civil Society: Democracy Trends in Post-Soviet Armenia" Anthropology & archeology of Eurasia 50, no. 3 (2012): pp. 11–50.
"Velvet Revolution, Armenian Style", Demokratizatsiya, vol. 26, n. 4, Fall 2018

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Աբրահամյան Լևոն Հմայակի [Levon H. Abrahamyan]". sci.am (in Armenian). National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Levon Abrahamian" (PDF). Institute of History, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Levon Abrahamian". Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020.
^ "Levon H. Abrahamyan". ysu.am. Yerevan State University. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020.
^ "Matenadaran Foundation has new president of board of trustees". Armenpress. 6 November 2018. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020.
^ "Decrees of the President of RA". president.am (in Armenian). 26 May 2009. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Մշակույթի վաստակավոր գործչի` Լեւոն Հմայակի ԱԲՐԱՀԱՄՅԱՆԻՆ ազգագրագետ, ՀՀ ԳԱԱ հնագիտության եւ ազգագրության ինստիտուտի արդի ազգաբանության բաժնի վարիչ
^ Astourian, Stephan (Spring 2002). "Reviewed Work: Armenian Folk Arts, Culture, and Identity by Levon Abrahamian, Nancy Sweezy, Sam Sweezy". Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review. 13 (2): 75–76. JSTOR 41757899. This beautifully produced volume broadens significantly the scope of Armenology in the West, all too often preoccu- pied only with medieval literary, theological, and historical texts, and with the issue of Greek or Persian influence. It will be of interest to Indo-Europeanists, students of the Caucasus, anthropologists, and all those interested in tradi- tional cultures and environments.
^ Firkatian, Mari A. (January 2003). "Reviewed Work: Armenian Folk Arts, Culture, and Identity by Levon Abrahamian, Nancy Sweezy". The Russian Review. 62 (1): 150. JSTOR 3664563. ...tographer, the book is extremely accessible to Western readers yet would satisfy Armenians as well.
^ Birkalan, Hande A. (Spring 2004). "Reviewed Work: Armenian FolkArts, Culture, and Identity by Levon Abrahamian, Nancy Sweezy". The Journal of American Folklore. 117 (464): 202–203. doi:10.1353/jaf.2004.0029. JSTOR 4137827. S2CID 161962094. Nevertheless, the jargon-free language, style, and conceptual organization of Abrahamian and Sweezy's book make it an important contribution to the study of art, culture, and history, and it establishes a good dialogue with its readers. Especially for those who are interested in a general knowledge of the Armenian people, this book is certain to become an important source.
^ Kotchikian, Asbed (May 2008). "Reviewed Work: Armenian Identity in a Changing World by Levon Abrahamian". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 40 (2): 315–316. doi:10.1017/S0020743808080562. JSTOR 30069615. S2CID 162980194. This book is strongly recommended to anyone dealing with issues of changing identity in the post-Soviet space. The simple language of the author makes his research accessible to nonacademics and experts alike and gives the reader a chance to explore the process of post-Soviet transition. Overall, this is a great book that also lays the groundwork for further research on a little explored topic.