
Rozita Aghamalyan holds a BA in translation studies from Yerevan Brusov State University of Languages and Social Sciences, and an MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from American University of Armenia. She joined AUA in 2012 as a research team member, course coordinator, and general English instructor at AUA Extension program. Currently she teaches Introduction to the Structure of English, Introduction to Language and Culture, and Freshman Seminar. Rozita’s interests also include contrastive analysis, content-based teaching, and environmental education.
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 2749
Office location: PAB 117W

Anders has worked in higher education for over twenty years, concentrating on media and online instruction. Anders has worked as a professor and as an educational media consultant (dealing with video production, live webcasting, student engagement, user experience, and instructional technology as well as course development and instructional design).
Anders also served in the U.S. Army for 26 years, first as an airborne infantryman, then as a certified military instructor. Anders finished his military duty as a Sergeant Major, working as a U.S. Army National Guard international instructor assisting the Kansas State Partnership Program with the government of Armenia through the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan. These different experiences have allowed Anders to observe many different learning scenarios and factors dealing with higher education allowing him to identify different problematic issues and successful solutions.
Anders also does periodic speaking events as well as authoring books, research articles, and blog posts (www.sovorelpublishing.com) dealing with different aspects of instruction, online learning, and educational technology.
Higher education
- 2018, PhD in Education (focus in online instruction and adult learning), Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA
- 2007, Master of Science in Instructional Technology, University of Nebraska at Kearny, Kearny, Nebraska, USA
- 2000, Bachelor of Science in Psychology (focus in human computer interaction), Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA
Courses taught:
- FND 101 – Freshman Seminar I
- EC 233 – Professional Communication
Publications:
Anders, B. (2020). 7 Characteristics of an excellent instructor based on learning science. Emporia, KS: Sovorel Publishing Company. https://www.amazon.com/Characteristics-Excellent-Instructor-Learning-Science-ebook/dp/B0839CXTLQ
Anders, B. (2019). The Army learning concept, Army learning model: A guide to understanding and implementation. Emporia, KS: Sovorel Publishing Company. https://www.amazon.com/Army-Learning-Concept-Model-Implementation-ebook/dp/B0814GD2S8
Anders, B. (2018). Exploratory study of the Structured Self Development experience of enlisted soldiers in the Kansas Army National Guard. Manhattan (Dissertation). KS: Kansas State University. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/38621
Anders, B. (2017). How to enhance instructional presence: Research & experience based techniques to improve both online & face-to-face instruction (video for education series). Manhattan, KS: Sovorel Publishing Company. https://www.amazon.com/Enhance-Instructional-PRESENCE-face-face/dp/0998763713
Anders, B. (2016). Video to enhance face-to-face and/or online instruction, presence, and interaction. American Association for Adult and Continuing Education Conf Proceedings. Albuquerque, NM
Anders, B. (2016). Video to enhance face-to-face and/or online instruction, presence, and interaction. Annual Summer Institute on Distance Learning and Instructional Technology Conference Proceedings. Overland Park, KS: Johnson County Community College
Anders, B. (2015). Motivational/Cultural issues in the utilization of Army learning model (ALM) techniques while instructing Armenian soldiers. 56th Annual Adult Education Research Conference Proceedings. (pp. 51-55). Manhattan, KS: Kansas State University
Anders, B. (2015). Use of video to enhance education. In S. Hai-Jew (Ed.), Design strategies and innovations in multimedia presentations. (pp. 189-201). Hershey, PA: IGI Global doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-8696-0
Anders, B. (2014). More than just data: The importance of motivation, examples, and feedback in comprehending and retaining digital information. In S. Hai-Jew (Ed.), Packaging digital information for enhanced learning and analysis: Data visualization, spatialization, and multidimensionality. (pp. 37-46). Hershey, PA: IGI Global
Anders, B. (2013). Creating a video based educational game: A how-to guide. In S. Hai-Jew (Ed.), Open-source technologies for maximizing the creation, deployment, and use of digital resources and information. (pp. 242-251). Hershey, PA: IGI Global
Anders, B. (2012). A case study on using discovery learning within a learning management system: Axio Learning. In S. Hai-Jew (Ed.), Constructing self-discovery learning spaces online: Scaffolding and decision making technologies. (pp. 119-130). Hershey, PA: IGI Global
Anders, B., (2011), Negative learning and its mitigation in Army simulations. In S. Hai-Jew (Ed.), Virtual immersive and 3D Learning Spaces: Emerging technologies and trends. (pp. 333-335). Hershey, PA: IGI Global
Anders, B., Briggs, D., Hai-Jew, S., Caby, Z., & Werick, M. (2011). Creating an online global health course and game. EDUCAUSE Review Online: EDUCAUSE Quarterly 34(4). http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/creating-online-global-health-course-and-game
Anders, B. (2010). Dramatic educational film making for the University Life Café website. In D. Russell (Ed.), Cases on collaboration in virtual learning environment: Processes and interactions. (pp. 24-26). Hershey, PA: Yurchak Printing Inc.
Anders, B. (2010). The Art of videography for e-learning. In S. Hai-Jew (Ed.), Digital imagery and informational graphics in e-learning: Maximizing visual technologies. (pp. 131-134). Hershey, PA: Yurchak Printing Inc.
Research database IDs:
ORCID ID Number: 0000-0002-0822-8224
Awards:
- Army Achievement Medal (2019) for excellence in service in the training of Soldiers & mission success.
- Armenian Coin of Appreciation (2014) presented by First Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia David Tonoyan in appreciation of development of the Armenian Sergeants through educational engagements at the NCO (Sergeants) Academy in Yerevan, Armenia.
- Outstanding Project Award (2007) in recognition of contribution of time, talent, and effort in the successful design upgrade of the Division of Continuing Education website at Kansas State University.
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 2749
Office location: PAB 117W
Office hours: 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM Monday through Friday

Hourig Attarian has obtained her PhD from the Faculty of Education, McGill University. She is also a core member of the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (COHDS) at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Visual arts-based methodologies are a core facet of her research endeavours. Anchored in the blurred genre of life history and autobiographical inquiry, her work focuses on storying memory and identity through visual and narrative explorations. Her research-creation projects draw together difficult memories and marginalized histories of violence within a framework of public pedagogy.
Hourig teaches courses in education and oral history.
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 2769
Office location: PAB 132W

Shushan Avagyan received her PhD in English Studies from Illinois State University with a specialization in Translation Studies and a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies. She has taught comparative literature courses and translation workshops since 2006. Her articles and translations have appeared in numerous publications, including The Review of Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Women’s Writing, Music & Literature, and Dissidences: Hispanic Journal of Theory and Criticism. She is the translator of Energy of Delusion: A Book on Plot, Bowstring: On the Dissimilarity of the Similar, A Hunt for Optimism and The Hamburg Score by Viktor Shklovsky (Dalkey Archive), Art and Production by Boris Arvatov (Pluto), and I Want To Live: Poems of Shushanik Kurghinian (AIWA). She is the coordinator of the Graduate Certificate in Translation Program at AUA.
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 2736
Office location: PAB 129W

Tatevik Avetisyan has been an adjunct lecturer at the American University of Armenia since 2016 teaching PR and Discourse Analysis courses.
Tatevik Avetisyan brings insights from her expertise in providing strategic communication consultancy to local and international businesses, international organizations, diplomatic missions, and academic settings. For over 14 years she has been practicing PR and communications with corporate and humanitarian organizations in Armenia and internationally.
Tatevik Avetisyan has been leading the PR Unit and projects at Deem Communications since 2011. Together with DEEM, AUA and IREX she initiated the first ever PR Summit in Armenia, a professional event that hosts local and international experts since 2014. Currently, she is also a communication and training expert in “Support to EU Communication on Reforms in Armenia II” project.
She enjoys sharing, teaching, mentoring, traveling and connecting ideas and people to reveal their full potential.
Tatevik Avetisyan holds an MA degree with the focus on Public Relations from Ball State University, Indiana, U.S. Her undergraduate specialty is in English, Spanish and teaching from Yerevan State Linguistic University after V. Brusov.
Education:
- 2009-2011, MA, Ball State University, IN, U.S. (Muskie Fellow)
- 1998-2000, 5-year Diploma with Honor (English & Spanish, Teacher), Yerevan State Linguistic University after V. Brusov
- 2001-2002, Non-degree exchange program, Education/methodology (FSA-Ugrad), University of Wyoming, WY, U.S.
Courses taught:
- EC232 – Public Relations
- EC200 – Introduction to Discourse Analysis
Publications:
- “PR: Environmental Factors”: Emporium PR/Marketing Magazine, March 2013
- “Blindness – Not an Obstacle to Success”: www.a1plus.am, November 10, 2007: (The article was written in the framework of “South Caucasus – A Part of Europe” workshop, Eurasia Partnership Foundation, Armenia).
- “What Do You Know about Arine?”: the Sevan newspaper, issue # 14, December 6, 2004.
- “World Mental Health Day in Gavar”: the Geghama Ashkhar newspaper, issue # 13, November 4, 2004.
Research database IDs:
Awards:
- Winner of Ball State University Department of Journalism Louie Award (2010)
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 2581
Office location: 607MB
Office hours: may change – Fall T TH 10:00-12:00; Spring MWF 10:30 -12:30 or T TH 10:00- 12:00

Dr Melissa Beattie was awarded a PhD in Theatre, Film and TV Studies from Aberystwyth University where she studied Torchwood and national identity through fan/audience research as well as textual analysis. She has published and presented several papers relating to transnational television, audience research and/or national identity. She has worked at universities in the US, South Korea and Pakistan and is currently an Assistant Professor of English and Communications at the American University of Armenia.
Higher education
January 2017, PhD Aberystwyth University
December 2012, MPhil Cardiff University
December 2006, MA Bristol University
September 2002, BA SUNY Buffalo
Courses taught:
- EC 104 – Introduction to Communication
- EC 238 – Media and Society
- EC 290 – Research Methods
Publications:
Potts, L., Beattie, M, et al. Forthcoming. ‘A Digital Archive of the Ianto Memorial in Cardiff Bay.’ Digital project with the WIDE Institute and Dr Liza Potts.
Beattie, M. Forthcoming. ‘Still.’ in Smith?, S. (ed). Outside In 9. Baltimore, ATB Press.
Beattie, M. and Mitchell, L. 2021. ‘”The Filthiest Gutter of the Realm”?: Negotiating and Negotiated Australian Identities in Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.’ at The Australasian Journal of Popular Culture.
Beattie, M. 2021. ‘Receptio Non Immaculata.’ in Smith?, S. (ed). Outside In 8. Baltimore: ATB Press.
Beattie, M. 2020. ‘”Like An American But Without a Gun”?: Canadian National Identity and the Kids in the Hall.’ Participations 17.2. Available at https://www.participations.org/Volume%2017/Issue%202/contents.htm.
Beattie, M. 2020. ‘Skinner’s Sense of Style.’ in Smith?, R. (ed). Outside In 7. Baltimore: ATB Press.
Beattie, M. 2019. ‘Comedy with Consequences.’ Peephole Journal, Vol 12. Available at: http://www.peepholejournal.tv/issue/12/01-beattie/
Beattie, M. 2019. ‘Fan Dancing.’ Smith?, R. (ed). Outside In Gets a Soul. Baltimore: ATB Press.
Attfield, R. and Beattie, M. 2019. ‘Opinion on the Paris Conference, Compensation and Climate Change.’ Electronic Green Journal Vol 1. No 42. Available at https://escholarship.org/uc/uclalib_egj .
Beattie, M. 2018. ‘What Can You Make Out of a Sword?’ Smith?, R. (ed). Outside In Takes a Stab. Baltimore: ATB Press.
Potts, L., Beattie, M., Dallaire, E., Grimes, K. and Turner, K. 2018. Participatory Memory: Fandom Experiences Across Time and Space. Enculturation Intermezzo Digital Press. Available at: intermezzo.enculturation.net/06-potts-et-al.htm
Beattie, M. 2017. ‘”The Problem Seems to be an American with No Sense of Timing or Fashion:” Costume and National Identity in Torchwood.’ Journal of Film, Fashion and Consumption. Vol 6.2. 123-140. available at: https://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-issue,id=3432/
Beattie, M. 2017. “‘My’ Hero or Epic Fail? Torchwood as Transnational Telefantasy.” Palabra Clave. Vol 20 No 3. Available at http://palabraclave.unisabana.edu.co/index.php/palabraclave/issue/view/257.
Beattie, M. 2017. ‘Breaking Things,’ in Smith?, R. (ed) Outside In Makes It So. Baltimore: ATB Press.
Beattie, M. 2016. ‘Remembrances of Things Unseen.’ in Smith?, R. (ed) Outside In Boldly Goes. Baltimore: ATB Press.
Cubbison, L. and Beattie, M. 2015. Ethics in the Agents of SHIELD. [online] Available at https://sites.google.com/site/ethicsintheagentsofshield/home.
Beattie, M. 2015. ‘Who’s Town is it Anyway’ in Smith?, R. (ed) Outside In: Vol 2. Baltimore: ATB Press.
Beattie, M. 2014. ‘A Most Peculiar Memorial: Cultural Heritage and Fiction’, in J. Schofield (ed). Who Needs Experts? Counter-Mapping Cultural Heritage. Aldershot: Ashgate. 215-224. Available at https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B86HmVXnD53rRGp4NVczLVZrWVE
Beattie, M. 2013. ‘The ‘Doctor Who Experience’ (2012—) and the Commodification of Cardiff Bay’ in M. Hills, (ed). New Dimensions of Doctor Who. London: I.B. Tauris. Available at https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B86HmVXnD53reS1FeDN
Beattie, M. 2012. ‘Stop All the Clocks,’ in Smith? R., (ed). Outside In. Baltimore: ATB Press.
Beattie, M.. 2011. ‘A Preliminary Report on the First Excavation Season (1 June-15 July, 2047) at Zombie Assault Site UK546– Newport, South Wales,’ in Smith?, R. et al. (eds). Braaaiiinnnsss: From Academics to Zombies, Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press.
Beattie, M. 2011. ‘Whoniversal Translation,’ in Burk, G., Smith?, R.. (eds). Time, Unincorporated (Volume 3), Mad Norwegian Press: Des Moines.
Beattie, M. 2011. ‘Landmark Television: A Fan’s Life in Cardiff.‘ in Burk, G., Smith?, R., (eds). Time, Unincorporated (Volume 3), Mad Norwegian Press: Des Moines.
Beattie, M. 2010. ‘Zero to Hero? Aeneas in The Iliad and Posthomerica,’ Rosetta, Vol 8. [online] Available at http://www.rosetta.bham.ac.uk/issue8supp/.
Beattie, M. 2010. ‘Life During Wartime: Wartime Morality in Doctor Who,’ in Burdge, A., et al. (eds). The Mythological Dimensions of Doctor Who, Kitsune Press: Tallahassee.
Beattie, M., 2010. ‘A Kiss is Just a Kiss (Except When It’s Not): Life and Breath in the Whoniverse,’ in Garner R , Beattie, M.., McCormack U., (eds). Impossible Worlds, Impossible Things: Cultural Perspectives on Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, Cambridge Scholars Press, Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Garner R., Beattie, M., McCormack U., (eds). 2010. Impossible Worlds, Impossible Things: Cultural Perspectives on Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, Cambridge Scholars Press: Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Garner R., Beattie, M., McCormack U., 2010. ‘Introductory Chapter,’ in Garner R.,Beattie, M., McCormack U., (eds). Impossible Worlds, Impossible Things: Cultural Perspectives on Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, Cambridge Scholars Press: Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Piccini, A.A., and, Beattie, M., 2006. ‘Conflicting Sounds,’ British Archaeology, September/October, pp. 56-57.
Presentations and Invited Talks:
2 August 2021. ‘Good Taste: Travel Food Series as Quality TV,’ at the Critical Studies in Television Conference. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqwINQtT4-k&list=PLBrk-wPNLaVn8h21oryiYpbimT8tMdBBp&index=1 .
11 July 2021. ‘Seeing and “Here-ing:” Use and Interpretation of Banal Diegetic Nationalism,’ at the IAMCR Conference.
19 June, 2021. ‘Media Theory and Methods for Classics and Allied Fields,’ at the Xena: 20 Years On Conference.
11 March, 2021. ‘”You Can Get It If You Really Want:” The Use of Caribbean Music Genres in Death in Paradise,’ for the British Audio-Visual Research Network’s Spring Virtual Colloquia series.
2 October, 2020. ‘“Where the Heartland Is?” Problematised Oklahoma and Oklahomans in Leverage,’ at the Midwestern Popular Culture and American Cultural Association Conference.
3 August, 2020. ‘”What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?!”: Use and Representation of Romanitas by Contemporary British Media and Culture,’ for the Swansea University Summer Seminar series ‘Myth and Politics.’ Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9eHtyXFeGw .
23 July 2020. (Dr John Riley and Dr Melissa Beattie) ‘Stalking the Zone: Fan Tourism, Tarkovsky and Chernobyl.’ at the virtual Besides the Screen Conference. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k55JZLWoeSY .
8 August, 2019. ‘Meaning-Making and the Media Text,’ workshop for the Department of Media Sciences, Szabist University.
16 October, 2018. ‘Semiotics and Representation (or How I Learnt to Start Worrying and Question My Every Decision),’ for the Continuing Professional Development Bonus series, Woosong University.
11 November, 2017. ‘Introduction to Fan Studies,’ for the 80s Basement Lecture series, Salt Lake City, Utah.
5 May 2017. ‘Eight Years [G]on[e]: A Study of the Torchwood Memorial in Cardiff Bay,’ at ‘Ritual ‘Litter’ Redressed: The heritage of contemporary deposits’ at the University of Hertsfordshire.
28 April 2017. (Dr Liza Potts and Dr Melissa Beattie) ‘‘Ceci n’est pas un Site Archeologique:’ Contemporary Archaeology, Fan Studies and the Public/Private Interface.’ Public Archaeology Twitter Conference.
8 December, 2016. ‘”Who Is He (and What Is He to You)?”: Identity, Narrative Complexity and the Hallmarks of Quality Cult in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD‘ at the Superheroes and Identity Symposium.
20 July, 2016. ‘My Hero: National Identity and Discourses of Torchwood.’ at the NAASWCH conference.
24 June, 2016. ‘Epic Fail? Torchwood and National Epic.’ at the Celtic Classical Conference.
23 May, 2016. ‘My’ Hero: Transnational Torchwood.’ at the Cultural Transduction Conference.
19 August, 2014. (Dr Amanda Potter and Melissa Beattie): ‘Res Gestae per Televisionem Nuntio Divi Augusti: Octavian and Rome.’ At Leeds’ Augustus Bimillennial Symposium.
12-14 June, 2014. ‘”The Problem Seems to be an American with No Sense of Timing or Fashion:” Costume and National Identity in Torchwood.’ at Fashion and Fiction.
13 April, 2014. ”I’d be hopelessly trying to flirt with some guy; meanwhile, your dad would get a date with his sister.’ ‘Greek’ love and Caprica.’ at Classical Association Annual Meeting 2014.
1 July, 2013. ‘”Always Faithful to the Soil:” Autochthony, Genre and Language in Caprica.’ at Swords, Sorcery, Sandals and Space.
21 March, 2013. ‘Insert Clever Title Here: Problems with Presenting a PhD in Progress’ at Aberystwyth University’s TFTS Departmental Conference 2013.
20 July, 2011. ”That is so Welsh!’: Torchwood and National Identity’ at Alien Nation 2011.
19 December, 2010. ‘A Most Peculiar Memorial’ at TAG 2010.
18 June, 2010. ‘Ne Memoria Excidat: A Study of the Impromptu Ianto Jones Memorial in Cardiff Bay.’ at Investigating Torchwood: Text, Context, Audiences.
26 May, 2010. Panelist at book launch for The Mythological Dimensions of Doctor Who.
10 April, 2010. ‘Stoic Elements in Gallifreyan society (or how I learnt to stop worrying and just not interfere)’ at the Classical Association Annual Meeting 2010.
14 November, 2009. ‘Zero to Hero? Aeneas in The Iliad.‘ at AMPAL 2009.
1 May, 2009. ‘Unfiltered Camels: The Military Use of Camels by the Romans.’ Part of ICS ‘Work in Progress’ lecture series.
15 November, 2008. ‘A Kiss is Just a Kiss (Except When It’s Not): Life and Breath in the Whoniverse,’ at ‘Whoniversal’ Appeal: An Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Conference on Doctor Who and All of its Spin-Offs.
14 October, 2008. ‘Unfiltered Camels: The Military Use of Camels by the Romans.’ Part of lecture series in aid of ‘Whoniversal’ Appeal: An Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Conference on Doctor Who and All of its Spin-Offs.
28 May, 2007. Panelist/moderator at international, media-based convention (Media*West) for panel discussion on narrative consistency in modern mythology.
Creative Work:
1 October, 2020-present. Research Support Officer and Social Media Manager, Shattered, Lesser of 2 Weevils Productions, Manchester, UK.
- Researched financial and distribution systems
- Ran Twitter and Instagram accounts for different characters
- Helped manage YouTube channel and website (WordPress)
- Distributed Kickstarter rewards
30 November, 2019. Writer, ‘Winning,’ Daejeon Ten Minute Play Festival, Jungu Cultural Centre, Daejeon, Korea.
17 November, 2018. Director, Writer and Advertising, A Total [S]Hit Show, Jungu Cultural Centre, Daejeon, Korea.
Directed sketches, including from the booth
Wrote and performed interstitial sketches
Involved in creation, purchase, maintenance and repair of props and costumes
Involved in developing production design and set decoration
Assisted in creating advertising strategy
19 February, 2012. Lyricist, song ‘Mine, All Mine,’ Workin Process 3, Iris Theatre.
December 2010-December 2012. Head of Translation, Culture and History Team, Writer on Graphic Novels team, Resonance.
- Historical research and coordination of same
- Translation and coordination of translation
- Development of artificial language (artlang), including grammar, syntax, vocabulary and orthography
- Author of graphic novel The Golden Bough
12 June, 2010. Writer of World Domination: A Simple Plan, Sitcom Saturday, Real Deal Theatre.
September 1996-March 1998. Staff Writer, Scientific Consultant, Editor, Webseries seaQuest 2047.
Writing and developing scripts and ideas on deadline.
Editing finished scripts for both scientific accuracy and for general quality.
Consulting with other writers/staff members.
Office location: PAB 137W
Office hours: M 1100-1230; T 1200-1330

Viken Berberian received his Msc from the London School of Economics and Msc from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. He teaches persuasive writing, expository writing, business journalism, creative nonfiction, and the graphic novel: comics as literature. His work has appeared in the New York Times, The Nation, the Financial Times, Bomb, Granta, Foreign Affairs, Le Monde Diplomatique, Inculte (Edition
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 25 22
Office location: PAB 118W
Website: http://vikenberberian.com/

Liliana Edilyan graduated from the Yerevan State Teacher Training Institute of Russian and Foreign Languages (named after V. Brusov), Department of English and Second/Foreign Languages. She continued her studies in Moscow taking “A Two-year Advanced Professional Degree Training” at Morris Torrez Institute of Foreign Languages. Upon completion she was conferred the title of “Senior Lecturer” and worked at Yerevan State University in the Department of Romance and Germanic Languages. She received her MA in TEFL in 2005. She has presented at international conferences and published in professional journals.
She has been working at AUA since 1994. She is the author of an ESP book for students of theology and co-author and editor of the manual “A Practical Course in Written English” (a textbook on the writing course for the students of Romance and Germanic Languages).
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 2736
Office location: PAB [email protected]

Christian Garbis earned his Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Lesley University. He teachers Expository Writing, Persuasive Writing, Writing For Media, and Technical Writing. His news articles, commentaries, and essays have appeared in Hetq Online, The Armenian Weekly, and Roads and Kingdoms. Christian is the author of two acclaimed blogs, Notes From Hairenik and Footprints Armenia, on which he discusses social and political issues and conveys intimate descriptions of daily life in Armenia. A third blog, The Great Garbanzo, details his culinary adventures. Apart from his prose writing, he has also written a novel, a screenplay, and numerous short stories, and he has made several short experimental films. Christian was born and raised in Greater Boston but now resides in Yerevan, Armenia. He is the father of two beaming young sons.
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 2681
Office location: PAB 134W

Vaagn Gouchtchian has obtained his MaRes from Université de Provence (Aix en Provence, France) in literature and literary theory, his dissertation discussing author-character relations in the novel is underway. Since 2009, Vaagn has been actively contributing to various literary and multimedia projects. Vaagn’s translations from Western Armenian to French of Rouben Zardarian’s and Artashes Haroutiunian’s short stories have received a warm public and professional acclaim, both in Armenia and in France (UEA Press, 2015); Vaagn acted as translator and cultural consultant for the documentary “Tigran” (2014). Currently, he is working on the translation and analysis of Armenian folktales and has been teaching Literature and Culture at AUA since 2015.
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 2522
Office location: PAB 118W

Eric Grigorian is a photojournalist with almost two decades of experience documenting everything from conflict zones to politics to celebrities to natural disasters. His clients have included Time, Newsweek, NY Times, Boston Globe and numerous other magazines and newspapers in the U.S. and abroad. Eric was the recipient of the World Press Photo award in 2003.
After a long period of living and working in Los Angeles, Eric moved to Yerevan in 2013 where he also dedicates part of his time teaching visual storytelling and photography. He currently teaches Introduction to Photography at AUA.
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 2749
Office location: PAB 117W

Dr. Hilda Grigorian joined AUA College of Business and Economics in 2013, teaching “Effective Communication” to MBA cohort and “Business Communication” to BAB cohort. Dr. Grigorian has over 25 years of professional experience in private sector in U.S. with over 16 years of experience in International Development arena including 8 years of working for USAID and other donor agencies in Afghanistan, where she served as Senior Development Adviser to the U.S. and NATO Armed forces. As a Subject Matter Expert for Afghanistan, she played a key role in training both civilian and military personnel prior deployment to Afghanistan in the areas of: cultural awareness, communication and ethics.
In May 2011, Dr. Grigorian was recognized by the U.S. Congress for her achievements in Armenia and Afghanistan.
Dr. Grigorian earned her Ph.D. in Public Policy and International NGO Management from Walden University.
- B.S.- Business Administration- University of LaVerne, California, U.S.A.
- MBA- Executive Business Management- University of La Verne, California, U.S.A.
- Ph.D.- Public Policy- The University of Walden, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
- BUS 177- Business Communication
- BUS 301- Communication in the Work Place
- The Importance of Gender Mainstreaming in Sub-National Governance (Case of Armenia)
- The Impact of Gender Mainstreaming to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)- (case of Armenia and Afghanistan)
- Using Corporate Social Responsibility as a tool to tackle rural poverty (case of Armenia)
- Building Sustainability through Capacity Building (Case of Afghanistan)
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The Notion of Progress of an Afghan Woman in Society: Moving Beyond Foreign Aid (2016)
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Human Trafficking in the Republic of Armenia (2004)
https://www.researchgate.net -
The Impact and importance of Gender Mainstreaming in Developing Countries- UNDP/Pakistan (2007)
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Unknown Faith of Armenian NGOs (2002)
CV: Download

Mica Hilson earned his MA in English and a BA in Mathematics from Emory University at age 18, then went on to earn his PhD in English from Indiana University. At AUA, he teaches the first-year course in Communications and the fourth-year Research Methods and Capstone courses, along with classes in American Literature and Discourse Analysis. His research on modern and contemporary literature, culture, and critical theory has appeared in a variety of scholarly journals, including The Comparatist, Doris Lessing Studies, and The Harold Pinter Review, as well as numerous essay collections, ranging from Security and Hospitality in Literature and Culture to The Ethics and Rhetoric of Invasion Ecology
Higher education
- 2010, PhD in English, Indiana University
- 1998, MA in English, Emory University
- 1998, BA in Mathematics, Emory University
Courses taught:
- EC 104 – Introduction to Communications
- EC 120 – American Literature
- EC 121 – English Literature
- EC 200 – Discourse Analysis
- EC 290 – Research Methods
- EC 299 – Capstone
Publications:
- “The Cost of Whimsy in Mood Indigo and The Grand Budapest Hotel” in Re:Focus: The Works of Michel Gondry, eds. Jennifer Kirby and Marcelline Block. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP (forthcoming in early 2020).
- “Desire and Risk Management in Contagion Fiction” in Bodies of Contagion, eds. S.A. Polak, et al. Cardiff: U of Wales Press (forthcoming in early 2020).
- “Slipping Queer Under the Radar” in Curricular Innovations: LGBTQ Literatures and the New English Studies, eds. William P. Banks and John Pruitt. New York: Peter Lang (2019).
- “Reimagining the Family Tree: Property, Biopolitics, and Queer Kinship in David Malouf’s Remembering Babylon and Patrick White’s Riders in the Chariot.” Pacific Coast Philology 53.2 (2018).
- “’Rubbish of All Kinds’: Domesticity, Squalor, and Squatting in Doris Lessing’s Fiction.” Doris Lessing Studies 36.1 (2018).
- “The Little Revolution That Could: What can the world learn from Armenia’s successful uprising against a would-be strongman?” Slate 10 May 2018.
- “Bath-Time and Cruising Time: Temporality, Tension, and Release in Pinter.” Harold Pinter Review 1 (2017): 50-65.
- “The Forces of Habit and the Ethics of Self-Composture.” The Comparatist 40 (2016): 128-43.
- “Rooting for the Unrooted: Invasive Species and Uncanny Ecosystems in Peter Carey’s ‘Exotic Pleasures’” in The Ethics and Rhetoric of Invasion Ecology, eds. James Stanescu and Kevin Cummings. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2016. 141-58.
- “A Dwarf at the Table: Hospitality and the Non-Normate Body in Modern Literature” in Security and Hospitality in Literature and Culture, eds. Jeffrey Clapp and Emily Ridge. London: Routledge, 2015.
- “‘The odd man out in the family?’ Queer Throwbacks and Reproductive Futurism in The Fifth Child” Reprinted in Contemporary Literary Criticism Yearbook 2013, Vol. 370, ed. Lawrence J. Trudeau. Farmington Hills: Cengage/Gale, 2015.
- “A Doctor for Who(m)?: Queer Temporalities and the Sexualized Child.” Co-written with Adrianne Wadewitz. Bookbird. 2014.
- “Sharing Economies and Value Systems on the Nifty Archive” in The Feminist and Queer Information Studies Reader, eds. Rebecca Dean and Patrick Keilty. Los Angeles: Litwin, 2013.
- “‘The odd man out in the family?’ Queer Throwbacks and Reproductive Futurism in The Fifth Child” in Doris Lessing Studies 30.1 (2011): 18-22.
- “The ‘Problem’ of William Styron in The Confessions of Nat Turner” in Literary Griot: International Journal of Black Expressive Cultural Studies 14.1-2 (2002): 103-23.
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 26 71
Office location: PAB 120W
Office hours: 1:00-2:30 MWF

Elitza Kotzeva has a PhD in English Studies with a focus on Rhetoric from Washington State University. She holds a Certificate in Applied Literary Translation from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and graduate degrees in Slavic Languages (Czech, Slovak, and Bulgarian), Local Development, and English Literature from universities in Bulgaria, Italy, and the United States. Her research explores the intersections of material rhetorics, performance studies, feminist geography, and rhetorical ethnography. Elitza’s publications appear in journals dedicated to the study of material culture and rhetoric. She has published translations in The Review of Contemporary Fiction, Exchanges: Journal of Literary Translation, and Apofenie.
Higher education:
- 2019, PhD in English, Washington State University
- 2015, Certificate in Applied Literary Translation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- 2012, MA in English, Appalachian State University
- 2004, МА in Local Development, University of Trento and University of Bolzano, Italy
- 2002, MA in Slavic Studies: Czech, Slovak, and Bulgarian, Sofia University, Bulgaria
Courses taught:
- EC 121 English Literature Survey
- EC 120 American Literature Survey
- EC 213 Digital Literacy and Multimodal Composition
- EC 290 Research Methods
- EC 299 Capstone Research
- CTRA 381 History and Theories of Translation (graduate class)
Publications:
- “Stuck between Traditional, Soviet, and post-Soviet Rhetoric: A Feminist Ecological Study of Armenian Left-behind Rural Women Negotiating Gender Roles.” Work in Progress.
- “Queering Bulgarian Pop Folk, or Injecting Critical Theory into Chalga.” Routledge Companion to Popular Music and Politics of the Balkans. Forthcoming in 2023.
- “Counter-Mapping for Resistance and Cultivation of Counter-Memory: The Social Life of Some Nagorno Karabakh Maps.” Special Issue: Social Lives of Maps. The Material Culture Review. Forthcoming in April 2022.
- “Grotesque Representations of the Rhetorical Grotesque: From Choragraphy to Performance.” enculturation. Forthcoming in summer 2022.
- Portrait of a National Wound: Sketches of Armenia / Портрет на една народна болка: щрихи от Армения. Documentary Fiction. Forthcoming in 2022.
- “Down the Rabbit Hole.” Our Body of Work: Embodied Teaching and Administration in Writing Studies. eds. Anna Sciari and Melissa Nicolas. Boulder: U of Colorado Press, 2022.
- Collaboration with Garabet Kazanjian & Lilit Khachatryan, “From Sacred to Sacrilegious: Armenian Human-Water Relations.” Media Seascape and the Criminal Imaginary. In Media Res, November, 2021.
- “From Concerto for Sentence by Emiliya Dvoryanova, translated by Elitza Kotzeva.” Review of Contemporary Fiction, 33 (1): 46-51. Dalkey Archive Press, 2013.
- “Czech Short Fiction.” Critical Survey of Short Fiction. Pasadena: Salem Press, 2012.
Translations:
- Poetry by poets of the Bulgarian circle New Social Poetry. Apofenie. Volume 7: Justice. June 2019.
- Excerpt from Invisibleby Nataliya Deleva. Exchanges: Journal of Literary Translation. Fall 2018 Issue. The University of Iowa.
- Concerto for Sentence by Emiliya Dvoryanova. Urbana-Champaign: Dalkey Archive Press, 2016. (Bulgarian to English)
- “From Concerto for Sentence by Emiliya Dvoryanova, translated by Elitza Kotzeva.” Review of Contemporary Fiction, 33 (1): 46-51. Dalkey Archive Press, 2013.
- Born under a Lucky Star by Ilona Lacková. Centre de Recherches Tsiganes, Université “René Descartes”, Paris, France. Sofia: Litavra Publishing, 2000. (Czech to Bulgarian)
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 26 72
Office location: PAB 131W
Office hours: MWF 11:30—12:30
Website: www.elitzakotzeva.com

Ruben Malayan is an an award-winning art director and visual artist. His career in graphic design spans over twenty years – crossing over into the fields of visual identity design, typography and calligraphy. Over the years he has lectured and taught workshops of calligraphy in the United States, Canada, Russia, Poland, Romania and Armenia. Ruben’s work has been published in a number of books and magazines in Israel, Armenia, US, Netherlands and France. He exhibits art locally and abroad.
Education:
- May 1993, MA, Graphics, Yerevan State Institute of Fine Arts
- May 1990 BA, Painting, Yerevan State Art College
Courses taught:
- EC 269 – Visual Communication
Publications:
- Armenian section of ‘The World Encyclopedia of Calligraphy’ Sterling Publishing, NYC 2011
Awards:
- 2015 Best Digital Entry at Centennial Art Contest of LA City Council
- 1999 UNDP Armenia Internet Project and Sard 99 Armenian Website Prize Jury. Title of winner in the category “Armenian FREENET Choice”- for good design by means of computer technologies and wonderful art
Websites:
www.ArmenianGenocidePosters.org
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 2581
Office location: 607MB
Office hours: 11:00-12:00AM (Wednesday & Friday)

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nshan-h-matevosyan-esq-bb357540/
Nshan Matevosyan has earned his Bachelor’s degree in Philology from Interlingua Linguistic University with a specialization in Translation and Interpretation, his Master’s degree in Laws (LL.M.) from the American University of Armenia, as well as his Certificate of Completion from the School of Advocates of the Republic of Armenia with a specialization in Civil and Administrative Law.
Mr. Matevosyan has been teaching and conducting training series in negotiation since 2013 for various stakeholders, including but not limited to OSCE Yerevan office, UN House Armenia, RA Community Police, various Armenian banks, American University of Armenia, Armenian Chamber of Advocates and others. He is licensed to practice law in Armenia and is a member of the Armenian Chamber of Advocates.
Higher Education
September 2016, Certificate of Completion, School of Advocates of the Republic of Armenia
June 2013, Master of Laws (LL.M.), American University of Armenia
June 2010, Bachelor of Philology: Translator, Interpreter, Interlingua Linguistic University
Courses taught:
- Negotiation
- Master’s Paper
Awards:
- January 2018, Certificate of Appreciation by the World Bank Group for Contribution to Doing Business 2018: Reforming to Create Jobs
- December 2016, Certificate on Interactive Teaching Methodologies for Law School Professors by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
- May 2016, Certificate of Appreciation by the Master of Laws Program Chair of the American University of Armenia
- July 2013, Certificate on International Humanitarian Law by International Commission of Red Cross and American University of Armenia
E-mail:
[email protected]
Phone:
(+374 60) 61-27-55
Office Location:
109W (PAB)
Office hours:
Monday – Friday from 1 PM to 6 PM (by appointment)
A writer and journalist, Maria has over a decade of experience reporting the news from Armenia and the region. She is the Founding Editor of EVN Report, an English-language news magazine. She was Associate Editor of the Armenian Reporter, Managing Editor at CivilNet, and a regular contributor to a number of Diaspora publications. She teaches Media & Society, Introduction to Journalism, and Research Methods.
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 2745
Office location: PAB 131W

Gariné Torossian is a filmmaker and visual artist. Retrospectives of her work have been shown at the MoMa, Centre Pompidou, Film Forum, and the Berlinale. Her work has garnered a number of awards, including best documentary at the Warsaw international film festival and best short at the Berlinale. Her work has been broadcast on Arte France and the Sundance Channel. She is a recipient of a DAAD (Berliner Künstlerprogramm) filmmaker fellowship in Berlin.
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 2522
Office location: PAB 118W

Syuzanna Torosyan holds her BA in English and a Second/Foreign Language Teaching from Yerevan Brusov State University of Languages and Social Sciences, and an MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from American University of Armenia. She joined AUA in 2011 as a recruitment and student progress coordinator, and a general English instructor at AUA Extension program. Currently she teaches Introduction to the Structure of English, and Freshman Seminar. Her interests lie in the areas of teacher training, program evaluation, and classroom assessment. She has actively been involved in research projects, presented in a number of local and international conferences, and published in a professional journal. Syuzanna is the author of a book on the impact of formative assessment on EFL Learners’ vocabulary enhancement.
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 2735
Office location: PAB 107W

Rafik Santrosyan received his PhD in Germanic Linguistics from Yerevan State Linguistic University in 2015. He has served as a lecturer at Yerevan State Linguistic University, American University of Armenia, and as a visiting professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy, University of Duke, USA, and a post-doctoral fellow at City College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, Greece. He worked as a research fellow at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland; Center for Women’s and Gender Studies of the University of Paris 8, France; and at the University of Padova, Italy. Santrosyan’s teaching and research interests lie in the fields of gender linguistics, multimodal semiotics, and simultaneous interpreting. His current research examines the interconnectedness of grammatical gender and language-mediated cultural discriminatory practices.
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 2671
Office location: PAB 136W

Mimi Zarookian is a career educator of 35+ years holding a BA & MA in English Literature from California State University Northridge, a Clear Life Teaching Credential from the State of California, and a Bilingual Certificate of Competency from the University of La Verne. She has worked with school districts in the greater Los Angeles area in instructional and administrative capacities. She moved to Armenia in 2014 and joined AUA’s faculty teaching in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the MA TEFL Program. Mimi proudly serves on the Armenian Educational Foundation Scholarship Committee and is responsible for their annual publication. She is also a board member of Orran NGO. Mimi’s passion for education has made each day of her career a joyful journey.
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +37460 61 2581
Office location: PAB 607MB