YEREVAN, Armenia — On January 21, the Oral History Matters (OHM) initiative at the American University of Armenia (AUA) hosted an Inner Circle roundtable event titled “Inside Voices: Libraries and Community Memory” in the Akian Art Gallery. Inner Circle events are closed to the public in order to stimulate discussion in an intimate environment between participants.
AGBU Papazian Library’s new staff member and OHM representative Tatevik Galstyan (BAEC ‘24) introduced the event, which marked the first OHM event hosted at the University in 2025 and the continuation of an ongoing collaboration between OHM and the Library. Library director Laurie Alvandian briefly delivered a presentation on the relationship between oral history as a vital methodology in capturing the narratives of marginalized peoples and libraries/archives as sites of interaction where the public, scholars, and students can access these narratives. Within this framework, libraries function not only as repositories of information but also as sites of knowledge production, providing students and scholars with access to otherwise inaccessible materials while fostering an environment for posing new questions and synthesizing new knowledge.
AUA Associate Professor Dr. Hourig Attarian helped facilitate the roundtable discussion, which covered a wide range of topics, from the impact of artificial generative intelligence on education to the potential risks of the institutionalization of oral history narratives. Interlocutors emphasized oral history as both research method and educational tool, reflecting on its role in cultural preservation in Armenia and the diaspora. The discussion continued informally as participants shared reflections over warm tea and salty treats.
The AGBU Papazian Library supports the learning, teaching, research and service goals of the AUA community, as well as the general public. The Library’s physical collection of over 30,000 volumes is the largest English-language collection in the region, and is fully open stack and accessible. The Library also provides access to over 87,000 e-journals and 400,000 e-books.
Oral History Matters is a collaborative research hub and an umbrella initiative established by a core team of AUA alumni and faculty to give more visibility to qualitative research frameworks in general and life history research in particular. It seeks to dismantle dominant research practices by bringing oral history to the forefront and challenging conventional narratives.
To stay updated about all upcoming events, follow @oralhistorymatters on Instagram. All In(Sight) House Talks can also be viewed on YouTube, @oralhistorymatters.
