The American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC) presents: Infinite Armenias: Digital Storytelling as Cultural Heritage Preservation

LOCATION: 15 Charents Str., 0025, Yerevan, Armenia; 3rd floor, Library

DATE: June 2, 2018
TIME: 10:00-17:00

Facilitators:
Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Central Florida and ARISC Fellow, Arthur Petrosyan, Researcher and Archaeologist, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography and ARISC Fellow, and Travis Corwin, Archaeologist and Film Maker

Description
Digital storytelling is an incredibly effective way to engage with communities and provoke public interest in heritage preservation through the production of short, multimedia presentations, which is important since Armenian cultural heritage is at risk from a variety of factors ranging from economic development to the privatization of archaeological sites. We are hosting a digital storytelling workshop for cultural heritage professionals in Yerevan with the aim of informing a worldwide audience about the threats that Armenian cultural heritage faces and the efforts that research teams are making to prevent future losses. During the workshop, each participant will produce a three-to-five minute digital short on the topic of opportunities and challenges in cultural heritage management in Armenia. We intend to develop stories in both Armenian and English (with subtitling/captioning) to reach an international audience.

To participate, please email tiffany.earley@ucf.edu for more information.

Tiffany Earley-Spadoni is an archaeologist and historian whose research focuses upon ancient landscapes and complex social processes like warfare. She co-directs excavations as a part of the Vayots Dzor Fortress Landscapes project, a joint American-Armenian project. Her work has been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, and she has a monograph forthcoming with the University Press of Colorado. She received her PhD from the Johns Hopkins University in 2015. She teaches courses on digital storytelling at the University of Central Florida in her role of Assistant Professor.

Arthur Petrosyan is a researcher and archaeologist at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Republic of Armenia. Petrosyan graduated from the Faculty of Culture at the Armenian State Pedagogical University in 2005, obtaining a degree in Museology and Conservation of Historical Sites. In 2007, Mr. Petrosyan graduated from the Department of Archaeology and Ethnography at the Faculty of History of Yerevan State University, obtaining an MA degree in Archaeology and History. He continued his education at the Faculty of Cultural Heritage and Environment at the University of Milan (Italy) studying the Methodology of Archaeological Research in 2008, then he did another course of Lithic Industry and Experimental Archaeology at the Department of History and Cultural Heritage of the University of Siena (Italy) in 2010. From 2007 to 2010, he pursued his PhD education at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of NAS RA. He co-directs international archaeological field projects and has authored and co-authored numerous scholarly publications.

Travis Corwin holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Central Florida is a professional archaeologist and film maker.

This project is made possible by a Collaborative Heritage Management Grant from the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). Funding for this grant comes from Project Discovery! and private donations.