With a larger vision of modernizing the Armenian society, the Armenian Research Center in Humanities (ARCH) conducts disciplinary and interdisciplinary research in various fields of humanities (political science, sociology, cultural studies, literary criticism, philosophy and others),as well as the organization of scientific and educational activities, publishing and outreach.

In a globalizing world, the study of the possibilities, directions, and perspectives of national self-organization of the Armenian society of major importance for the ARCH.

To this end, it is necessary to engage in ongoing intellectual dialogue with the international scientific communities. This will contribute to the exchange of experiences in the study of contemporary social structures in different countries around the world and the development of relevant discourses descriptive of modern Armenian realities. This exchange implies not only borrowing and creatively adopting existing theoretical models and social practices to the local situation, but also generalizing the results of the Armenian experience of social transformationand bringing them to the international community.

One of the primary tasks of the ARCH is the formation of a communication platform for scholars of Armenian Studies in Armenia, abroad, and in the Diaspora, serving the purpose of effective dialogue, mutual understanding, and cooperation between them.

The ARCH aims at building a critical scientific environment and high professionalism in the field of humanities in Armenia, through conferences and seminars, publication of own and translated works, as well as other tools common in the civil society.

Open dialogue is the ARCH’s main leverage of influence both on state institutions and on public opinion.

Presidency:

Ashot Voskanyan – President

Seiran Zaqaryan

Hrach Baiadyan

Nona Shakhnazaryan

Mkrtich Matevosyan

Laura Sargsyan - Communication Manager

Olga Azatyan - Researcher

The Armenian Research Center in Humanities (ARCH) was established in September 1993 with the aim of examining the life and development of the Armenian society and diaspora in light of modern social sciences. At the core of the ARCH’s work have been disciplinary and interdisciplinary studies covering the entire spectrum of social sciences and humanities.

The scholars affiliated with the ARCH have sought to address the compelling issues of modernity and to do so overcoming the limited frames of local resources and conventional inquiry, yet also avoiding the imitation and reproduction of standardized “modernizing” solutions.

The first Presidium of the ARCH brought together Ashot Voskanyan (PhD in Philosophy, President), Prof. Levon Harutyun Abrahamyan (Dr. habil. in Philosophy, Vice President), Academician Prof. Sen Arevshatyan (Dr. habil. in Philosophy), Academician Prof. Gagik Sargsyan (Dr. habil. in History), Prof. Vladimir Barkhudaryan (Dr. habil. in History), Prof. Aram Grigoryan (Dr. habil. in Philology), and meritorious artist painter Grigor Khanjyan. The first secretary of the ARCH was Artsvi Bakhchinyan (PhD in Philology).

Initially, the ARCH’s research was focused on the complex theme of Armenian identity and forms of national self-organization.

The ARCH held its first conferences in April 1994 (jointly with the Free University of Humanities, Yerevan) and in October, titled Armenians: Identity and Self-Consciousness.

• The ARCH’s first international conference titled The Problem of National Identity and Modernity was held in April 1995.
• The same year, the first issue of the ARCH Annual – Identity– came out based on the outcomesof the conference.
• In 2002, the Annual Problems of Identity was published with a major contribution from the ARCH members, but, for some unfortunate non-academic reasons, the ARCH was not credited on the cover page.
• In Autumn 2003, the Center, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, organized an international conference titled Armenia on the Way to Europe.
• In 2005, the peer reviewed versions of the conferences papers yielded another issue of the ARCH Annuals Armenia on the Way to Europe.
• In 2017, the ARCH was re-registered in accordance with the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.