IANYAN Magazine

By Ashley Killough • June 17th, 2010

When Danny Lovell, 25, received his country assignment from the Peace Corps, he looked at the word “Armenia” on his invitation—and paused.
“I remember thinking, what’s Armenia? What’s in Armenia?”
Lovell vaguely recalled studying the Soviet Union in high school, but he knew little about the South Caucasus country. “After I looked at the map, I thought [...]

Kitsch lyrics, super sleek pop stars in shiny outfits that can be seen planets away and the silent sound of oozing cheese can only mean one thing in the spring time: Eurovision is here.
Yes, the best and worst (well, maybe just the worst) of 39 countries have gathered for another year of frills and thrills, [...]

This is the first part of a multi-series report dealing with Armenians and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender individuals.
On a Spring day in 2008, Herbert Hoover High school in Glendale, Calif. planned a “National Day of Silence.” Organized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network and held in April since 1996, the day was [...]

Too often, not all voices are heard. In an effort to jump start dialogue, ianyan magazine presents three alternative voices on important issues and significant subjects dealing with the Armenian Genocide and Armenian-Turkish relations.
An American in Glendale
There is no doubt that Glendale has the largest concentration of Armenians in the United States. In fact, according [...]

After Professor Jirair Libaridian began questioning the Armenian approach to the Armenian Genocide and Turkish relations, he formed a friendship with Hrant Dink, now known as the courageous editor of Agos newspaper who was killed at point blank range three years ago because of his beliefs.
On Monday, April 12, Libaridian, who holds the Alex Manoogian [...]

Have you ever been asked, “If you had the chance to be reborn, what ethnicity would you choose to be?” A pressing question like the one Hamlet asked himself, “To be or not to be?” An automatic reaction to this sort of a question prompts one to excavate through the former files of [...]

I like to tell myself (and others) that I am queer because of where I come from and the way that my identity in a changing political economy was formed. There was always a split, beginning with the fact that I was born a female into a tradition that saw my great-grandmother’s birth as excessive [...]

I come from a Greek/Irish family, but being Greek is all I know. The only aunt I grew up with, a belly dancing, motorcycle riding sand dollar collector is now a shy nun deep in the heart of central Greece. She dresses in head to toe black and covers her head with a dark veil. [...]

In Tsopi, a Georgian village close to the Armenian border, a group of 80  pupils study together at a dilapidated school with no running water or electricity. Although this scenario might not seem uncommon in parts of the world, the students, who are ethnic Azeri and Armenians might surprise you.  Armenians know the Azerbaijani language [...]

The South Caucasus, along with the Middle East seems to be a perpetual hot bed for human rights violations, a major problem that continues to escalate in these war torn and economically unstable regions.  Though the issue extends to the citizens in those regions, they have spilled over to activists as well as journalists, which [...]