The 18th International Annual Conference on American Studies was opened at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) on May 11. The three-day conference has been organized by the Institute of American Studies at TSU and the Georgian Association for American Studies; it is dedicated to the 230th anniversary of the United States Constitution and the 25th anniversary of Georgian-American partnership.
U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Nicholas Berliner; Deputy Rector of TSU, Mikheil Chkhenkeli, representatives of government, NGO sector, academic staff and students attended the first day of the conference.
In his opening remarks, Deputy Rector Mikheil Chkhenkeli focused on the 25-year diplomatic relations between the United States and Georgia and stressed the importance of academic exchange programs. “The papers presented at the conference are very interesting and diverse; I think that this event will promote further deepening of relations between our countries,” he said.
Deputy Chief of Mission Nicholas Berliner hailed the conference as “a very important event” for promoting closer ties between the two countries.
The conference brought together representatives, professors, students and researchers from various higher educational institutions. It traditionally embraces all fields of American Studies.
TSU Associate Professor Elene Medzmariashvili said that the papers presented at the conference were diverse as experts in all directions of American studies were participating. “Traditionally, a lot of people take part in our conference. Most important is that the conference aims at developing the direction of American studies, improving the quality of papers, establishing contacts between scientists and sharing knowledge,” Elene Medzmariashvili said.
“The conference aims at encouraging researchers, professors and students interested in American studies. It was very important for me, as a young researcher and PhD student, a person interested in American issues, to participate in this event,” Mariam Khatiashvili said.
On the sideline of the event, an exhibition From the History of Georgian-American Relations was opened at the TSU Museum’s exhibition hall. Photo documents, print materials and manuscripts depicting the life and activities of the first Georgians, political emigration from Georgia to the United States were exhibited.
