James R. Russell
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James Robert Russell (born October 27, 1953) is a scholar and professor in
Ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...
ern,
Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...
and
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
Studies. He has published extensively in journals, and has written several books. He served as Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, and sat on the executive committee of Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. In July 2016, Russell became semi-retired and moved his residence to
Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...
."Lecture Announcement: James R. Russell: ''And the Book Was Not Consumed: The Forty Days of Musa Dagh and the Nazi Holocaust''"
, ''Berkeley Events'', University of California, Berkeley, October 27, 2016
As of 2023, Russell is Emeritus Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University, Distinguished Visiting Professor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a part-time Lecturer in Jewish Studies and Biblical Hebrew at
California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...
.


Early life and education

James Russell was born in New York City and grew up in the Washington Heights Upper Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. His parents are Jewish: his mother's ancestry was
Sephardic Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...
and his father's ancestry was
Ashkenazic Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
. He was educated at
The Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public specialized high school in The Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science involves passing the Spec ...
and Columbia University .A. summa cum laude 1974 He then was awarded a Kellett Fellowship which he used to study at the University of Oxford .Litt. 1977 under the Armenologists
Nina Garsoïan Nina G. Garsoïan (April 11, 1923 – August 14, 2022) was a French-born American historian specializing in Armenian and Byzantine history. In 1969 she became the first female historian to get tenure at Columbia University and, subsequently, b ...
and
Charles Dowsett Charles James Frank Dowsett (2 January 1924 – 8 January 1998) was the first Calouste Gulbenkian Professor of Armenian at the University of Oxford from 1965 to 1991. A teacher and raconteur, he had a large range of interests and culminated in hi ...
. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), under the direction of
Mary Boyce Nora Elisabeth Mary Boyce (2 August 1920 – 4 April 2006) was a British scholar of Iranian languages, and an authority on Zoroastrianism. She was Professor of Iranian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the Un ...
. His 1982 Ph.D. dissertation was entitled "
Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...
in Armenia" and later published by
Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...
.


Professional

Soon after finishing his Ph.D. he returned to New York City and taught at Columbia University in the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures (MELAC). He subsequently moved to Israel to became a Lady Davis Professor at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
at the recommendation and invitation of the scholar Michael E. Stone. By 1992, Russell was short-listed and soon accepted and was appointed to the Mashtots Chair in Armenian Studies in the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, succeeding
Robert W. Thomson Robert William Thomson (24 March 1934, Cheam, London UK – 20 November 2018, Oxford) was Calouste Gulbenkian Professor of Armenian Studies at Oxford University. Thomson graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in classics, then ...
the first holder of that chair since 1969 who had returned to Oxford University in England. Russell occupied the Mashtots Chair from 1993 until his retirement. He also taught a wide range of subjects, including freshman seminars on literature and comparative religions, literature and cultures. He has taught and lectured in
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
, India, and
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and at the Oriental Institute of the
Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...
and
Saint Petersburg State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...
. He was Government Fellowship Lecturer at the Cama Institute in Bombay, India.Professor James R. Russell's page at Harvard University
/ref> Russell has been called, "A complex figure... (who) resists easy classification and is no stranger to controversy: reviled by Turks and Armenians alike." He has been interviewed as an expert and scholar on
The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
's documentary programs including ''Angels: Good or Evil''. Russell has been one of the three faculty advisers for the conservative fortnightly student newspaper The Harvard Salient. He lectured on ''
Soteriology Soteriology (; el, σωτηρία ' "salvation" from σωτήρ ' "savior, preserver" and λόγος ' "study" or "word") is the study of religious doctrines of salvation. Salvation theory occupies a place of special significance in many religio ...
on the
Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
'' for the
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
Lecture Series of the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
in October 2005, and organized and chaired an international symposium in the same month to commemorate the 1600th anniversary of
Saint Mesrop In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...
Mashtots, inventor of the
Armenian alphabet The Armenian alphabet ( hy, Հայոց գրեր, ' or , ') is an alphabetic writing system used to write Armenian language, Armenian. It was developed around 405 AD by Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist and wikt:ecclesiastical, ecclesiast ...
. He has written on, translated, and analyzed the esoteric, mystical, and spiritual aspects of the writings of
Gregory of Narek Grigor Narekatsi ( hy, Գրիգոր Նարեկացի; anglicized: Gregory of Narek) ( – 1003/1011) was an Armenian mystical and lyrical poet, monk, and theologian. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic Churches an ...
, and has written numerous articles for the ''
Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encycl ...
''. He contributed to the ''New Leader'' magazine. Ninety one of his selected published scholarly journal articles are gathered in his book, ''Armenian and Iranian Studies''.


Critics

Russell's writings were criticized by Armenian historians
Armen Ayvazyan Armen Ayvazyan ( hy, Արմեն Այվազյան) (born May 14, 1964, Yerevan) is an Armenian historian and political scientist. Ayvazyan is the Director of the Ararat Center for Strategic Research and Senior Researcher in the Matenadaran, the Y ...
and Armen Petrosyan, who conclude that Russell made gross factual mistakes together with unsubstantiated and tendentious claims concerning Armenian history and culture. Ayvazyan considers Russell, along with a number of other leading American armenologists, to be one of the representatives of the "false Western school of Armenian studies". Bert Vaux, an Associate Professor of Linguistics in the Department of Linguistics at Harvard University, claims that Russell's "chair f Armenian Studiesis actually hurting the rmeniancommunity at this point. When you call the Armenians neo-Nazis, that isn't helping the community and it's not leaving it alone - it's hurting it. You are providing fodder for people that want to attack the Armenians." In his speech at the conference "Rethinking Armenian Studies: Past, Present, and Future" on October 4, 2002 at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, MA, Russell cautioned the audience against the "conspiracy theories, xenophobia, and ultra-nationalist pseudo-science
hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
have come increasingly into the mainstream of Armenology in the
Armenian Republic Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
" and which have found sympathetic outlets in some of the diasporic press, where paranoia and anti-Semitism have been notably present. "It is a task of the community to set its house in order because these trends are in the end suicidal," he warned. Although Prof. Russell declines to debate such issues, he stated that "I will help with my pen what I still believe to be the great majority of Armenians to expose and destroy the sort of people who are not only dragging our field, but possibly the community itself into dangerous territory".


Personal life

Professor Russell is the son of Dr. Charlotte Sananes Russell, a Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the
City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
, and Joseph Brooke Russell, an attorney and arbitrator in New York."Profile for Joseph Russell"
Alumni Association of Lafayette High School, Brooklyn, New York. "Graduated in Jan. '43, age 15, worked in factories and on farm to 17, Naval Aviation '44-'46, BA '50, JD '52 Columbia; Law practice to retirement in '88 from CBS Law Dept. Married 12/47 to Charlotte Sananes, New Utrecht HS grad. Jan. '43, BA summa cum laude Brooklyn Coll. '46, MA '47, PhD '51, Columbia, now professor emerita, CCNY. ... Retired lawyer/judge, part-time Hearing Examiner for NYC Health Dept."
His grandfather, Sidney A. Russell, was a founder and president of Russell & Russell, publisher of out-of-print scholarly books."Genealogy: Sidney A. Russell"
''geni.com''
James Russell lives in Fresno, California with his partner of many years, the artist, photographer, scholar of Tibetan Buddhism and literature, the educator D.E. Cordell.


Partial Russell Bibliography


Books

*''Zoroastrianism in Armenia'' (Harvard Iranian Series, 1987),

*''Hovhannes Tlkurantsi and the Mediaeval Armenian Lyric Tradition'' (University of Pennsylvania Armenian Series, 1987), *''The Heroes of Kasht (Kasti K'Ajer): An Armenian Epic'' (Ann Arbor: Caravan, 2000), *''The Book of Flowers'' (Belmont, Massachusetts: Armenian Heritage Press, 2003), , *''Armenian and Iranian Studies'' (selected articles, in Harvard Armenian Texts and Studies, 2004),

*''Bosphorus Nights: The Complete Lyric Poems of Bedros Tourian'' (Harvard Armenian Texts and Studies, 2006), , *''Poets, Heroes, and their Dragons (2 vols)'' (Brill, 2021),


Scholarly articles

*"''A Poem of Grigor Narekac'i''", REArm 19, 1985, pp. 435–439 *"''The Name of Zoroaster in Armenian''", Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies 2, 1985-1986, pp. 3–10 *"''Zoroastrianism as the State Religion of Ancient Iran''", Journal of the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute 53, Bombay, 1986, pp. 74–142 *"''On St. Grigor Narekatsi, His Sources and His Contemporaries''", Armenian Review 41, 2-162, 1988, pp. 59–65 *"''Sages and Scribes at the Courts of Ancient Iran''", The Sage in Israel and the Ancient Near East, J. Gammie, L. Perdue, eds., Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1990, pp. 141–146 *"''Kartîr and Mânî: a Shamanistic Model of Their Conflict''", Iranica Varia: Papers in Honor of Professor Ehsan Yarshater, Acta Iranica 30, Leiden: Brill, 1990, pp. 180–193 *"''Zoroastrian Elements in the Book of Esther''", Irano-Judaica II, S. Shaked, A. Netzer, eds., Jerusalem, 1990, pp. 33–40 *"''Two Notes on Biblical Tradition and Native Epic in the 'Book of Lamentation' of St. Grigor Narekac'i''", REArm 22, 1990-1991, pp. 135–145 *"''Virtue and Its Own Reward: The 38th Meditation of the Book of Lamentations of St. Grigor Narekatsi''", Raft 1991, pp. 25–30 *"''On Mysticism and Esotericism amongst the Zoroastrians''", Iranian Studies 26.1-2, 1993, pp. 73–94 *"''The Mother of All Heresies: A Late Mediaeval Armenian Text on the Yushkaparik'', REArm 24, 1993, pp. 273-293 *"''Problematic Snake Children of Armenia''", REArm 25, 1994, pp. 77–96 *"''Zoroastrianism and the Northern Qi Panels''", Zoroastrian Studies Newsletter, Bombay, 1994 *"''A Parthian Bhagavad Gîtâ and its Echoes''", From Byzantium to Iran: Armenian Studies in Honour of Nina Garsoian, J.-P. Mahé, R. Thomson, eds., Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1996, pp. 17-35 *"''Armenian Spirituality: Liturgical Mysticism and Chapter 33 of the Book of Lamentation of St. Grigor Narekac'i''", REArm 26, 1996–1997, pp. 427–439 *"''Polyphemos Armenios''", REArm 26, 1996-1997, pp. 25-38 *"''Scythians and Avesta in an Armenian Vernacular Paternoster''", Le Muséon 110.1-2, 1997, pp. 91-114. *"''A Manichaean Apostolic Mission to Armenia?''", Proceedings of the Third European Conference of Iranian Studies, 1, N. Sims-Williams, ed., Wiesbaden: L. Reichert, 1998, pp. 21-26 *"''Truth Is What the Eye Can See: Armenian Manuscripts and Armenian Spirituality''", Treasures in Heaven: Armenian Art, Religion, and Society, T. Mathews, R. Wieck, eds., New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, 1998, pp. 147-162 *"''The Armenian Shrines of the Black Youth (t'ux manuk)''", Le Muséon 111.3-4, 1998, pp. 319-343 *"''An Epic for the Borderlands: Zariadris of Sophene, Aslan the Rebel, Digenes Akrites, and the Mythologem of Alcestis in Armenia''", Armenian Tsopk/Kharpert, R. Hovannisian, ed., Costa Mesa, California: Mazda, 1998, pp. 147-183 *"''A Scholium on Coleridge and an Armenian Demon''", JSAS 10, 1998-99, 2000, pp. 63-71 *"''God is Good: On Tobit and Iran''", Iran and the Caucasus 5, Tehran, 2001, pp. 1-6 *"''The Magi in the Derveni Papyrus''", Nâme-ye Irân-e Bâstân 1.1, Tehran, 2001, pp. 49-59 *"''Ezekiel and Iran''", Irano-Judaica V, Shaul Shaked and Amnon Netzer, eds., Jerusalem: Ben-Zri Institute, 2003, pp. 1-15 Irano-Judaica V, Shaul Shaked and Amnon Netzer, eds., Jerusalem: Ben-Zri Institute, 2003, pp. 1-15


Representative articles in the ''

Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encycl ...
''

*Religion of Armenia *BEHDEN, Zoroastrianism or its adherents *BOZPAYIT, Body of Zoroastrian teachings in Sasanian period *BURIAL iii., Zoroastrian burial practices *CAMA Kharshedji Rustamji, Parsi Zoroastrian scholar and community leader, India, 19th *CEDRENUS Georgius, Byzentine historian dealing with Zoroaster, 12th *Christianity in pre-Islamic Persia, literary sources *AÙAR˜EAN, Linguist, Armenian, 19th 20th *ATRUˆAN, Fire temple, a Parthian loanword in Armenian *ÙAÚDOR ii., Veil, among Zoroastrians and Parsis *AÚL, Child-stealing demon *ANUˆAWAN, Legendary king of Armenia *ARA the Beautiful, Mythical king of Armenia *ARLEZ, Armenian term for a supernatural creature *ARTAXIAS I, Founder of Artaxiad dynasty in Armenia, 2nd BC *AÛDAHAÚ iv., Dragon in Armenia *BAAT ii., Family head of ˆaharu@n^, Armenian dynasty, 4th *BÈNAMAÚZÈ i., Menstruant woman, Zoroastrian concept for ritual *BURDAR, Armenian proper name for a Persian nobleman, 4th *CUPBEARER, Ancient Armenian function of a courtier


Popular articles


''An Essay on the Origins of The Armenian People''
(1981)
''Letter to The New York Review of Books''
''
The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...
'', 9 August 2001.
''O Captain! My Captain!''
''The Harvard Crimson'', Friday, March 03, 2006. On the resignation of former President of Harvard University Larry Summers

''The Current'', Columbia University, Fall 2007 issue.


References


External links

*
Professor James R. Russell's page at Harvard University (archived 2016)


* Kavulla, Travis R.
"A Small Niche for Great BooksAn Armenian Studies professor’s lonely accomplishment in general education"
''The Harvard Crimson'', January 20, 2006. Article on Russell's ''Literature Humanities'' course.

Special mention of Prof. Russell having published a translation and study, with the Armenian text, of "The Book of Flowers". )archived November 2004)
Harvard University Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Newsletter, Spring 2006, cf. page 4.
(archived June 2006)
Harvard University Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Newsletter, Fall 2006, cf. page 6.
(archived December 2006) * Ziabariby Kourosh
"Interview with Prof. James Russell: Iran should return to its former global position again"
''Ovi'' magazine, 2008-12-30 {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, James R. 1953 births Living people Harvard University faculty Columbia College (New York) alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of SOAS University of London Armenian studies scholars Iranologists Jewish American historians American male non-fiction writers People from Washington Heights, Manhattan 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Historians from New York (state) Columbia University faculty 21st-century American Jews