Heritage Forensics: Culture on the Front Lines of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict

Join us for a Chats in the Stacks book talk with authors Lori Khatchadourian, a professor in the Department of Near Eastern Studies; Jusik Ghulyan, research associate with the Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Sciences; and Adam T. Smith, the Henry Scarborough Professor of Social Science in the Department Anthropology, as they discuss their latest book, Heritage Forensics: Culture on the Front Lines of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict (Cornell University Press, 2026). Heritage Forensics presents a new framework for investigating cultural heritage endangered by war, ethnic cleansing, and secrecy, combining satellite-based spatial analysis with humanistic research to document how the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict has damaged the medieval and modern heritage of the South Caucasus. Drawing on the work of Caucasus Heritage Watch, authors Khatchadourian, Smith, and Ghulyan offer a reflexive, context-sensitive model for bearing witness to cultural erasure, looting, and violence in an era of post-truths.

This talk is part of Cornell University Library's "Chats in the Stacks" series that's free and open to the public. This book talk will also be livestreamed, with pre-registration at https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN7T6Sjwy0TLO3UqxdgYqatQ