This lecture will present findings from field research conducted at the Karekin I Educational Center, Holy Etchmiadzin, between March and August 2024. The study focused on assessing the needs of Armenian Apostolic Church communities, both within Armenia and in the diaspora, in close collaboration with Church leaders. Employing a mixed-methods approach that included a semi-standardized questionnaire survey and group discussions, the research gathered valuable insights into the perspectives of Armenian Church representatives. The talk will explore how these leaders perceive the Church’s role in addressing the needs of their communities and discuss potential strategies for enhancing the Church’s responsiveness and effectiveness.
Arthur V. Atanesyan is a professor and head of the Department of Applied Sociology at the Faculty of Sociology of the Yerevan State University of Armenia. His area of research and teaching includes political and military sociology, conflict communication, and mass media theories. Dr. Atanesyan served as an OSCE national expert (2012-2014), a national consultant for the Council of Europe Project on Human Rights and Women in the Armed Forces (HRWAF, 2018-2021), and a local expert for the 2016-2018 Action Plan on Ensuring Women’s Protection and Equal Opportunities in the Defense Sector in the Republic of Armenia. He volunteered in a monitoring group for the prevention of torture and inhuman treatment (OPCAT) at the Ombudsman’s office of Armenia (2010-2019). His recent publications include: – Balancing between Russia and the West: the hard security choice of Armenia (together with Reynolds, B. M., & Mkrtichyan, A. E., European Security, 2024, 33(2), 261–283) – Armenia between Russia and the West: Foreign Political Priorities in Public Opinion (Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies], 2022, no. 12, p. 88-100) – Women in the Armed Forces and Conflicts: The U.S. Policies and Experience (USA & Canada: Economics, Politics, Culture, 2022, no. 12, pp. 19-37) – Media Framing on Armed Conflicts: Limits of Peace Journalism on the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict (Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 2020, no. 14:4, p. 534-550)
Cosponsor: WCEE
Register here: https://umich.zoom.us/j/96676259975