July Profile of the Month: Hovhannes Hovhannisyan

The Vanderbilt International Office (VIO) is proud to showcase Hovhannes Hovhannisyan from Armenia as the Profile of the Month.

Hovhannes is part of the Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP), a program of Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State.  The main goals of the professional development program for junior university faculty are to:

• expand knowledge and expertise in their respective academic fields by attending classes and working with faculty members at universities in the United States;
• garner new educational perspectives with exposure to U.S. educational philosophy and methods;
• gather new academic materials and resources, and;
• forge relationships between U.S. universities and their home universities, in order to support ongoing contact and collaboration.

Below is a Q & A with Hovhannes about his experiences in the United States and at Vanderbilt University as well as his fellowship work.

Hovhannes Hovhannisyan
VIO:  So what exactly does your fellowship entail? 

Hovhannes:  My program is called Junior Faculty Development Program financed under U.S. State Department.  I applied for religious studies and now I am taking four courses - History of protestant theology in 19th century; Social movements and religion; History of religious studies, History of religion in US.  At the same time I am doing some research on christological issues and religion of phenomenology.  I am planning to publish an article in some of the scientific journals. 

VIO:  What are the differences you notice between Vanderbilt and your home university?

Hovhannes:   There are a lot of differences in educational systems and the teaching methods used in my University and in Vanderbilt. There are also some differences between students; here they are more individual and in my country they are more collectivistic.  Here I like the punctuality and responsibility of lecturers.