Armine Tigranyan defended her PhD thesis entitled “Preservation of Cultural Heritage: Theoretical Approaches, International Experience and Problems of Preservation of Artsakh’s Cultural Heritage”

On March 20, the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the NAS RA held a Ph.D. dissertation defense in the field of Historical Sciences, specializing in “Culturology” (Թ․ 00.06). At a session of the Professional Council of the Higher Education and Science Committee 007, operating under the NAS RA, Armine Tigranyan, a researcher at the Department of Culturology of the Faculty of History at Yerevan State University, defended her Ph.D. thesis entitled “Preservation of Cultural Heritage: Theoretical Approaches, International Experience, and Problems of Preservation of Artsakh’s Cultural Heritage.”

The session was attended by Arsen Bobokhyan, Director of the Institute, researchers from various departments, students, and individuals interested in the topic. The leading institution for the dissertation was the Institute of History of the NAS RA.

The session was chaired by Pavel Avetisyan, Doctor of Historical Sciences and Corresponding Member of the NAS RA, who emphasized the importance of the dissertation topic in his opening remarks. Arsen Harutyunyan, the Scientific Secretary of the Professional Council, welcomed the attendees and noted that the dissertation topic had been approved by the Scientific Council of the Faculty of History at Yerevan State University.

The scientific supervisor of the dissertation was Professor Hamlet Petrosyan (Doctor of Historical Sciences). The official opponents were Associate Professors Tamar L. Hayrapetyan (Doctor of Historical Sciences) and Arsen A. Hakobyan (Ph.D. in History).

In her presentation, A. Tigranyan noted that as of September 2020, approximately 4,000 monuments had been registered in the territory of the Republic of Artsakh, most of which belong to the Armenian Christian heritage from the 4th to the 19th centuries. The goal of her research was to examine theoretical approaches to cultural heritage preservation and to analyze international experiences—including conventions, declarations, regulations, policies of international organizations, resolutions, and decisions—in order to identify current issues concerning the preservation of Artsakh’s cultural heritage and propose possible mechanisms for its protection.

According to the author, the scientific novelty of the research is twofold: first, it frames the protection of Artsakh’s cultural heritage within the broader concept of cultural heritage; second, it considers the destruction of cultural heritage, war crimes, cultural genocide, ethnic cleansing, and displacement as components of a unified system.

A.Tigranyan outlined the theoretical foundations and methodology of her research, its practical significance, and the main findings of the dissertation. Following her presentation, the scientific supervisor and official opponents delivered their evaluations. While the opponents acknowledged some shortcomings in the work, they concluded that these did not significantly impact the quality or integrity of the research.

After the discussion, a vote was held, and by unanimous decision of the Professional Council, Armine Tigranyan was awarded the degree of Ph.D. in History.