The Ashot Johannissyan Research Institute in the Humanities was founded in 2014 in Yerevan. The Institute aims to develop a theoretically and methodologically informed research sensitive to the possibilities of study offered by the object itself. The Institute encourages theoretical and philosophical research, development of new methodologies, as well as studies not confined to the framework of Armenian Studies. Yet the Institute formulates its objectives taking both the Armenian historical experience and Armenia as a position that provides a particular perspective onto the world, a perspective where various conflicting trends and legacies intersect. The historical scope of research is not limited to a particular period, though a priority is given to the studies of Modernity and the Modern period. The Institute is named after intellectual historian Ashot Johannissyan (his last name is spelled differently in various transliterations, such as Hovhannisyan, Ioannisyan, Johannissyants) (1887-1972) whose historical scholarship had consistently and dynamically intertwined care towards material, factual precision and theoretical rigor with a political stance, in order to critically position Armenians as active subjects entangled in the complex web of international struggles for liberation with the capacity to generate their own future.
The goal of the Institute is to foster the humanities scholarship in Armenia and contribute critically to the ongoing international discussions in the field. The Institute aims to foster scholarly collaboration between Armenia and the Diaspora via research projects, publishing initiatives and translations. It aims to encourage historically conscious and theoretically engaged scholarship that would contribute critically and productively to the development of new approaches in the humanities through publishing, translation, public initiatives, library and archive. The Institute offers local scholars academic resources for their research and provides them with opportunities for sharing their research through publications, conferences, symposia and other forms of engagement with the public.