Soon after finishing his Ph.D. he taught at Columbia University in the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures (MELAC). He then became a Lady Davis Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Soon after he was appointed to the Mashtots Chair in Armenian Studies in the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department at Harvard University, which he has occupied since 1993. He also teaches a wide range of subjects, including freshman seminars on literature and comparative religions, literature and cultures.