Ani Shahinian
College:
St. Cross College
Research Interests:
Christian Martyrdom in the context of the Islamic world, in the late medieval, early modern Armenian Plateau, in broader conversation with Eastern Christianities.
The missionary activities of the mendicant Franciscan and Dominican orders in the Caucasus region and Persia, particular focus on the novelty of Armeno-Latin Relations and their achievements.
Late medieval Armenian theological and philosophical thought on the freedom of the human will [Αὐτεξούσιον, Անձնիշխանութիւն] and virtue-ethics [առաքինութիւնք].
Miniature paintings and manuscript illuminations in the monasteries in the Lake Van region.
Armenian martyr texts for insights and investigation into local socio-economic and cultural history, and the question of what it means to be human in a technological age.
Armenian – Christian Apologetics [ջատագովութիւնք], polemical dispensation texts, and conversion in exchange with Muslims and Islam.
Armenian Genocide martyrs and the development of models of testimony and witness in Christian martyrdom.
Theological-Anthropology: What it means to be human in a technological age?
The philosophical thought on the freedom of the human will [Αὐτεξούσιον, Անձնիշխանութիւն] and virtue-ethics [առաքինութիւնք] applied to today's discussion on AI Ethics, technology, and human responsibility.
Recent Publications and/or Conferences:
“Armenian Martyrologies: An inquiry into social and economic relations between Christians-Muslims in Late Medieval Armenian Plateau” (Fall of 2023, forthcoming).
“Armenian Christian encounter with Islam and the Muslim World: a historical account with some contemporary theological and ecclesial reflections” (forthcoming).
“At the Nexus of Adversity and Accomplishment: The Armenian Communities of Salmast” in Armenian Communities of Persia and Modern Iran, Richard G. Hovannisan (ed.) (Mazda Publishers: Costa Mesa, CA, 2021), pp., 352-375.
“The Martyrdom of Awag Salmastec‘i (1390): An inquiry into business relations between Christians and Muslims in Salmast, Persia and Bałeš, Lake Van Region in Late Medieval Armenia” (forthcoming).
“Philosophy and Martyrdom: Contextualizing «Անձնիշխանութիւն» in the Martyrology of Tamar Mokac‘i (1398)”, Proceedings of the International Armenological Conference, Dedicated to the 90th Anniversary of Academician Sen Arevshatian’s Birth, (May 22-23, 2019), (Yerevan: Matenadaran, 2020).
“Tracing Models of Martyrdom: The Effect of the Martyrdom Narratives in the Bible on the Composition of Martyrologies in Medieval and Early Modern Armenia” in Oskanean Astowacašnč‘i hratarakowt’ean 350-ameakǝ, 1666-2018, (Mayr At’oṙ Surb Ēǰmiacni hratarakč‘ut’iwn, 2018).
“Late Medieval Armenian and Byzantine Apologetic Texts on Christian and Muslim Dialogue” presented at the University of Oxford in collaboration with the University of Vienna, 2023.
“Armenian Martyrologies: An inquiry into social and economic relations between Christians-Muslims in Late Medieval Lake Van” presented at the Conference entitled, The Caucasus on the Crossroad of International Trade and Cultural Exchanges, (From Ancient Times to the Modern Period), at the National Academy of Sciences, Yerevan, Armenia, 2022.
“Miniature Paintings and Martyria: Representations of Martyrs and the Events of Martyrdom in the Material Culture in the Late Medieval and Early Modern Lake Van Region” presented at Oxford and Ben Gurion University in Israel, June 2021.
“Apologetics and Martyrdom: Christian and Muslim Relations in Late Medieval Armenia” presented at the Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies, Oxford, UK, 2020.
“The Martyrdom of Awag Salmastec‘i (1390): An inquiry into business relations between Christians-Muslims in Salmast, Persia and Bałeš, Lake Van Region”, presented at the 18th Annual UCLA Graduate Colloquium, Los Angeles, CA, in February, 2020. Awarded the colloquium prize.
“Business relations between Christians and Muslims in Salmast, Persia and Lake Van Region in Late Medieval Armenia” presented at the Islamic World Seminar, Oxford, UK, December 2019.
“Being Human in a Technological Age: Rethinking Theological Anthropology Through Martyr Accounts” paper read at the Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Leuven, Institute for Leadership and Social Ethics, Leuven, Belgium, in February, 2019.
“Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries Christian Martyrs in Lake Van Region” presented at the St. Theosevia Centre for Christian Spirituality, Oxford, UK, February, 2019.
“The Life and Works of Vardapet Grigor Cerenc‘ Xlatec‘i (14th-15th Century)” presented at the Second Geneva Workshop for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Researchers: Université de Genève, 31 May – 1 June 2019.
“Memory and Identity through the Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide: A Christian Perspective on the Events of 1895-1930," Conference paper presented at the American University of Armenia (AUA) and UCLA. 2015 and 2016.
