Galloway, N.J. — Stockton University is expanding its adult-learners language program this fall by adding an eight-week introductory series titled “Western Armenian Language Essentials.”

The online series will focus on basic comprehension skills, simple greetings and interactions, and short conversations, guiding participants to learn without the need for repetitive memorization. The adult learner model is ideal for participants 18 and older and features no formal homework, quizzes or tests.

The course has been developed to maintain and enhance the number of Armenian speakers across the world. It will be taught online via Zoom by leading Armenian scholar Dr. Talin Suciyan, an associate professor at Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich for over 14 years. Suciyan specializes in the Western Armenian language, the history of Turkey and the Ottoman Empire. She is the author of “The Armenians in Modern Turkey: Post-Genocide Society, Politics and History” and her new book “Outcasting Armenians: Tanzimat of the Provinces” was released this summer.

The series is a collaboration between Stockton’s Office of Continuing Studies and Adult Education, the William T. Daly School of General Studies’ Armenian Studies Initiative and the Refugee Studies Initiative.

The Armenian Studies Initiative provides scholarships for students with Armenian-language skills to study in the Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies program; collects material from families of Armenian descent in southern New Jersey and the Philadelphia area, ensures the preservation of the material and, with permission, makes it available for research and teaching at Stockton University Richard E. Bjork Library’s Special Collections; and supports public programming on Armenian history and the Armenian genocide, including two major exhibits in the last few years: “Before, After: Reflections on the Armenian Genocide” (Sept.-Oct., 2021) at the Stockton Art Gallery, and “The Armenian Genocide, One Family’s Story” (Oct. 2022-May 2023) at the Richard E. Bjork Library.

The Refugee Studies Initiative promotes cross-disciplinary research on displacement and refugees through scholarships and events that facilitate discussions among faculty members, graduate and undergraduate students from across campus.

The Office of Continuing Studies and Adult Education runs several professional development, personal enrichment and workforce initiatives throughout the year. The Western Armenian series will be the third language series developed and offered by the office since 2018. This interactive series will follow a similar adult-learning model to our “French Conversations for Adults” and “Everyday Spanish” eight-week series; which rely on short phrases and everyday conversations rather than repeated memorization and homework assignments. 

The Western Armenian course will be offered from 2 to 4 p.m. EST on eight consecutive Thursdays from Sept. 28 to Nov. 16. The cost is $150 per person.

For more information, contact cs@stockton.edu, call 609-652-4227 or go to the series website.