The College of Arts and Humanities (csufresno.edu/artshum/) at Fresno State is the largest college on campus, encompassing nine departments, and the Armenian Studies (fresnostate.edu/artshum/armenianstudies/) program.
Of the 69 new faculty members at Fresno State this fall, about 20% of the new hires are in the College of Arts and Humanities. These new faculty bring innovative research, diverse disciplines and technical expertise to our college, strengthening our programs across many of our disciplines.
Over the next few weeks, we will introduce you to these new faces, by department.
Armenian Studies Program
Armenian Studies welcomes Dr. Khatchig Mouradian as the Kazan Visiting Professor in Armenian Studies for the Fall 2016 semester. Dr. Mouradian received his PhD in Armenian Genocide Studies at the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies of Clark University. He will teach, conduct research and give public lectures in the fall.
Dr. Mouradian will give three free, public lectures about genocide and resilience. The first of these lectures is Tuesday, Sept. 20. Read more here.
Question: What are you most looking forward to here at Fresno State?
Answer: Teaching — without question! I teach with passion. Having spent my entire childhood and young adulthood in a country where civil war precluded education, I know that students’ motivation to learn and succeed is often undermined by the burdens, responsibilities, and challenges of their daily lives. I strive to make their time in class worthwhile, and I invest in, encourage, and provide individual attention to students, irrespective of class size. I do so in the hope that their study of the history of the Armenian Genocide will help them better understand their own era and their own world and, ultimately, sensitize them to racial, social and economic inequality and injustice.
Q: How did you became involved in your specialty area?
A: After I received my undergraduate degree is in biology, I pursued graduate studies in clinical psychology and then conflict resolution — all the while working as a journalist and newspaper editor, first in Lebanon, then in the U.S. In hindsight, there was a method to my meanderings, as every road I took brought me closer to my career in researching and teaching the histories of peoples who were subjected to mass violence and, invariably, resisted it.
Q: What are you reading?
A: I am currently reading Benjamin Madley’s “An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873.”
Q: What is a book you think everyone should read?
A: At some point in one’s life, one should read Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables.” And no, the movie or the musical won’t do!
Q: What’s your biggest pet peeve in the classroom or a big mistake students tend to make?
A: Plagiarism.
Q: What’s a fun fact that people might not know about you?
A: In high school and college in Lebanon, I played chess competitively and was a chess trainer, helping lead my school to back-to-back championship victories in the 90s, and training chess players who won national and Arab World championships.
Q: Anything else you’d like to share?
A: I look forward to a productive semester at the Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State, and invite the readers to join me for the three public lectures I will be giving here (Sept. 20, Oct. 20, and Nov. 30) under the rubric “Genocide and Resilience.”
Q: What are your office hours?
A: 3-4 p.m. Wednesdays and by appointment.
Previous NEW FACES articles:
- Two new Philosophy professors (fresnostatecah.com/2016/09/06/new-faces-philosophy-department/)
- Two new Music professors (fresnostatecah.com/2016/09/12/new-faces-music-department/)
The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State 
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