Maral Aktokmakyan works on modern Western Armenian literature and the literary representations of biopolitical reductions with a particular emphasis on the Ottoman Armenians before and after the Genocide. She received her PhD in Western Languages and Literature from Boğaziçi University in 2016.

Christopher Sheklian studies secularism, minority rights, contemporary urban politics, and the connections between theology and social theory. His work deploys theological categories and liturgical practice in order to explore modes of belonging and forms of attachment available to religious minority populations in urban centers. He received his PhD from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago in 2017.

More about the Manoogian Fellows.

The University of Michigan’s Center for Armenian Studies (ASP) promotes the study of Armenian history, language, culture and society. ASP is built on the solid foundation of rigorous curriculum offered by the two endowed chairs in Armenian studies: The Alex Manoogian Chair in Modern Armenian History (1981) and the Marie Manoogian Chair in Armenian Language and Literature (1987). A member of the University of Michigan International Institute, the program organizes educational opportunities for students, faculty and the community.