American Research Institute of the South Caucasus

Excellent experience. The support ARISC provides is indispensable in a part of the world that can be difficult to navigate and less than transparent.

Wonderful organization that supports junior scholars and highlights issues of interest to the diverse communities of the South Caucasus.

ARISC had had a tremendous impact on my career from my very first time travelling to the region as an early career scholar. In a wider sense, both in terms of funding research, community building, it has done a tremendous job of promoting scholars and scholarship about the region.

Amazing non-profit helping researchers participate in conferences and exchange knowledge!

I participated in the ARISC program as a fellow, which allowed me to conduct fieldwork for my Ph.D. study. The program provided me with valuable experience.

In April 2024, there was a conference in New Orleans, USA. My abstract was accepted by the organisers, however, I did not have funding to participate in the conference. As it was the biggest archaeological conference in the World, I applied for funding for an ARISC travel grant. Fortunately, my application was accepted, and coordinator Talin helped me a lot during the application process and visa procedures. Thanks to all the members of the ARISC.
The conference was the 89th annual meeting of the Society of American Archaeologists.

ARISC has been the primary supporter of my projects in Georgia for many years now. It's an invaluable resource for networking and promoting research by scholars in the South Caucasus.

ARISC is an excellent non-profit helping to spread knowledge and connections between American higher education students and professionals and their colleagues in the South Caucasus region. I have worked with ARISC on research grants in Georgia and have always been incredibly satisfied with the assistance they have provided. They are an integral part of the South Caucasus intellectual community.

ARISC was super helpful at the last minute as we were preparing a grant proposal to train Armenian students. Resident Director Ani was prompt and professional and gave us some insight into the current university ecosystem in Armenia. Executive Director Talin and President Marshall were fantastic too and wrote us a letter of support. We will definitely connect with ARISC if we are funded and will connect in the future for additional opportunities.

ARISC sponsored faculty fellows for a week at the University of Illinois to facilitate research and curriculum development on the South Caucasus - and the experience was amazing. We were taken great care of, had full access to the library, archives, and materials, and the *content* of the sessions was amazing. Highly, highly recommended if you ever get the chance to work with them!

ARISC supports the opportunity to do research and share experience and resources across modern political borders that did not exist in the archaeological past and were different and varied in the historical past. As an archaeologist who has worked in all three modern countries and knows the challenges that the contemporary borders sometimes present, I value ARISC's mission of facilitating research in this still under-studied region with support from dedicated staff both in the U.S. and in the South Caucasus. Their programming provides grant opportunities to both North Americans (including Canada for some grants) and to scholars and students in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and the research ARISC supports is widely disseminated both in-person and on-line.

ARISC acts as a force for good by fostering academic connection and understanding in a very important part of the world that is critically under-researched. By creating and funding projects that increase communication between scholars, students and citizens of the US with the South Caucasian countries of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, ARISC enhances understanding of the region and contributes to peace and stability. I did three project with ARISC: the first was a short term grant to spend one month in Azerbaijan giving seminars and mentoring graduate students, the second was an online 3 day workshop which I gave during the pandemic, and the third was an online round-table also during the pandemic. In all cases I was impressed with how ARISC’s very small staff did an outsized job in organizing down to the detail so that each experience when extremely well and so that the goals of each event were achieved. Both the US based and in-country representatives are able, responsive and responsible. I was impressed how ARISC generated new programs during the pandemic and now after to continue to find new ways to engage scholars and students in this critical region.

Thanks to ARISC, I was able to find out my research topic for my MPhil Research. On August 7, 2020 ARISC organized a webinar titled “Accessing Materials in Libraries and Archives in the Time of COVID-19”. I participated as a listener there. In the Q&A session I found the fact that the first Armenian magazine was published from the colonial India. With that fact I started to find for more and found that there is a rich history of Armenians in my hometown Kolkata. And also there were many Armenian characters came up in the Bengali Literature through some eminent Bengali writers. With all these in my hand I went for my research and completed my MPhil from University of Calcutta. I am and will be grateful to ARISC for that. Thank You.

ARISC is a crucial organization that supports the creation of knowledge about this special place in the world. The people who work with the organization are always friendly and helpful. Without their support, it would be impossible to do quality work in the region. They hold many important and interesting events and provide support for new researchers in the field.

ARISC is a critical resource for all engaging with the Caucasus region, which is of great geopolitical and scholarly importance. This organisation should be commended for not only raising awareness and supporting American researchers in the region, but also elevating and encouraging meaningful dialogue with regional scholars.

Very knowledgeable and capable NGO that integrates scholars and policy need into a neat bundle. Forward thinking, thoughtful, and well-managed.

I attended a workshop in the summer of 2022, and was shocked to see that it was organized in such a fashion as to have a one to one ratio between experts in the South Caucasus and attendees. Additionally, all the experts were present in the course throughout the entire week. The comeraderie was palatable from the first day to the last, and the attendees' ideas, comments, and questions were never addressed in a condescending manner. Rather, everyone was made to feel as though the entire workshop was a group effort of academics on a mutual footing. All aspects of the week, from supportive material, to accommodations, to Library access, to electronic communication was well planned and expedited.

As a professor of modern Middle East history, I am thrilled to have the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus when considering Ottoman peripheries. The South Caucasus region is an historically important region, and this organization has helped me to think about how to convey its history to students in my classes. The organization sends out a monthly newsletter that publicizes programs, research possibilities, and scholars of interest. And when I put together a class on the Armenian Genocide, the Executive Director, attended a showing of a documentary film and spoke with students about Armenia.

I am Sara. I work in a museum as a guide. At the same time I work on my PhD about "Domestic life ethnic groups in Azerbaijan". More than 30 ethnic groups and national minorities live in Azerbaijan territory. They have their own dresses, meals, culture, monuments and folklore. I want to enlarge my research about this topic.

Writing as a representative of an ARISC institutional member, ARISC has been an amazing support for our students, faculty, and staff. The representatives in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia have expertly conducted research and supplied invaluable information about institutions and resources in their respective countries, facilitating study and research abroad for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers. In addition ARISC's research grants have supported graduate and post-PhD research in a field where such funds are rare. Their new initiatives promise to build on this great foundation, building scholarly networks and supporting professionalization over vast distances. I highly recommend ARISC as a resource and support for students, scholars, researchers, and academic professionals.

I have been studying the South Caucasus & conducting fieldwork there for over 30 years. I have had many encounters with ARISC, and participated in conferences organized by ARISC itself or organizations it sponsors (such as the Works-in-Progress lecture series in Tbilisi). I am very impressed by the variety of projects they have had a hand in, and by the energy, resources and expertise they contribute to research on the South Caucasus.

ARISC is an excellent regionally focused research organization, which provides much needed resource funding and support for scholars in the South Caucasus. I am often excited about many of the programs and opportunities that they offer, either directly or through their partners. These are communicated to members through routine communications and newsletters. I have personally benefited from funding from this organization and would not have been able to complete my project without their support. The leadership of the organization, from its executive director to its country representatives, are dedicated and helpful.

ARISC is an essential resource for scholars studying the countries of the South Caucasus region. They provide excellent support and information that I use to co-direct an archaeological field project in Armenia. Specifically, this organization offers fellowships which support research and organizes conferences both in the region as well as in the United States.

Thanks to ARISC we were able to create the online Encyclopedia of Armenian Modernist Architecture. Throughout the project ARISC has been very professional and kind in responding to our multiple questions and requests, providing support and guiding us through the process of paperwork . ARISC is a team of wonderful people and specialists both in the USA and Armenia who have demonstrated efficiency, support and professionalism throughout our one year work.

As an archaeologist who is working on a site in the capital of Armenia, Yerevan, life can get pretty political with government bureaucracies. I had particular problems with one of those bureaucrats. The director of ARISC at the time was of great help in negotiating my way around the worst of my problems.

ARISC has been a continuous source of support and a valuable networking resource throughout my time working in the Caucasus. Recent "Networking Calls" organized through WebEx have been a welcome development--I hope these will continue to happen. In addition, their grants program has been a crucial source of funds for research by students and recent graduates.

Great supporter of research in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia!

I had an excellent experience with ARISC in organization of a Regional Conference "Education in South Caucasus" held in June 2015 in Tbilisi. All preparations, practical informations and support to experts were very well organized. Verily, it is quite rare to witness such level of arrangements and support.
Brilliant team!

ARISC is a model for interdisciplinary, intercultural scholarly work. Their research support far exceeds expectations.

Excellent experience so far. ARISC has provided the much-needed funding and contacts in the south Caucasus (Georgia, in my case) to conduct worthwhile fieldwork. Their personnel, both in the States and host county, are approachable and eager to help.

ARISC has combined expert organization, programming, and extreme dedication to Caucasian studies to bring American-based research to new levels of productivity and innovation. Their funding initiatives, symposia, and public events have been critical to my development as both as an expert researcher and professional scholar. The on-the-ground, "in-country" administrators are both knowledgeable and experienced in the conduct of effective research in their respective countries!

All the members and especially the administration of this non-profit are very helpful in sharing experience and especially logistical help. I also appreciate that they publish notices of fellowship opportunities for residents of South Caucasus countries. Their lectures appear very interesting from the titles and the summaries although unfortunately I have never been able to attend.

As an archaeologists who works in the Southern Caucasus, I have found ARISC to be an indispensable resource. They have done an excellent job at connecting western and local scholars, organizing lectures and conferences.
The grants available through ARISC are some of the few available for research in the SC specifically and many have benefited from these. Their grant for Collaborative Cultural Heritage Management in Armenian is of particular importance, since such grants are quite rare (most grants are meant for conducting original research).

The officers of ARISC and general and their Executive Director in particular, have always been ready and willing to answer both academic and logistical questions related to conducting research in the SC. They are also very proactive in getting their student members involved in various activities, which is tremendously important for young scholars.

They have my outmost support and gratitude.

ARISC is doing great job of connecting Georgian scholars to their counterparts in Caucasus and in USA.

I had meetings in Azerbaijan and Georgia. We were very pleased with the local representatives, their availability & the meeting. Good people and important work, in promoting progress in the Caucasus.

Excellent service; Armenia rep does a great job arranging for talks and organizing translator services for events! Keep up the good work!

They do a great deal with relatively little operating in one of the more difficult regions of the world. The staff and leadership alike are dedicated and helpful. ARISC is a real boon to scholars of the South Caucasus.

ARISC give us an opportunity to start a program the Vayots Dzor Silk Road Survey. Thank you ARISC for it.

We're thankful to ARISC Team for supporting our project. You can learn more about our project here: www.otheryerevan.am

Our international team, several young researchers from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography in Armenia and Dr. Greene from the University of Stanford, received grant from ARISC to create website for our institute and store electronic data online. That was very urgent necessity for the institute and we are thankful to ARISC for it.

ARISC helped me to complete my doctoral research in archaeology. Their financial support is only part of why I'm grateful to ARISC, though. The effort ARISC officers have made to make a community of scholars in the US, as well as in Georgia and Armenia (my countries of research) has significantly eased my introduction to working in the region.

ARISC is a wonderful organization and brings together many people working within the Southern Caucasus. I have benefitted greatly from their advice and sense of community, and have also received funding which has greatly helped move my work in the region forward. ARISC has all of the expertise needed to help researchers gain local knowledge of the Caucasus and for MANY reasons is an invaluable resource!

ARISC is a great resource for scholars who work in the South Caucasus. I have had the most positive experiences in my interactions with ARISC as a recipient of two grants from them. I look forward to seeing this research institute grow and flourish, and hope to interact with it more in the future!

Members of the ARISC were incredibly helpful to me when I was compiling contacts, archives, and university programs for a research project in the Caucus mountains of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. They put me in touch with international professionals in my field of study. The contacts responded to my requests with full attention and interest in my project.
I would highly recommend you contact Talin Lindsay, Executive Director of the ARISC if you are a student of any subject regarding the South Caucasus region. She went the extra mile to help me formulate a plan of study, find manuscripts, a translator, a photographer and researchers.
This is one of the best academic institutes that will seriously take an interest in your study plans.