Dr. Cornelia Tsakiridou, director of La Salle’s DRP program and an associate professor of philosophy at the university, said, “The idea of bringing Dr. Akcam here was to expose students to the historical arguments of the case and do so by inviting a prominent historian who has specialized on this subject.”
“Professor Akcam brings to the study of the destruction of Turkey’s Armenian minority his expertise as a historian, a number of highly praised books, but also his Turkish background—a combination that has made him unpopular in Turkey, where the use of the term ‘genocide’ to describe the destruction is subject to prosecution for insulting Turkish identity,” said Tsakiridou.
The program was planned with Vince Kling of La Salle’s foreign language department, who is teaching a course on memoirs and using Peter Balakian’s autobiography Black Dog of Fate, the story of an American of Armenian descent who comes to terms with the genocide that affected his family.
Akcam is an associate professor of history at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. Since 1990, he has focused his research on Turkish nationalism and the Armenian Genocide, with 11 books and numerous articles to his credit, starting with his first book, Turk Ulusal Kimligi ve Ermeni Sorunu (The Armenian Question and Turkish National Identity). Published in 1992, Akcam became the Turkish scholar to write about the Armenian Genocide. Three years later, at the International Genocide Conference in Yerevan, Armenia, Akcam’s presentation on Turkish nationalism and the Armenian Genocide marked the first public acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide by a Turkish lecturer.
Akcam’s life and work have been featured in four critically acclaimed documentary films. In 2007, the Armenian Bar Association honored him with the Hrant Dink Freedom Award, calling him “a champion of historical truth about the Armenian Genocide.” He has also been honored by the Harvard University Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations and the Massachusetts State Legislature. He serves on the editorial board of “Genocide Studies & Prevention,” the official journal of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS).
Dr. Taner Akcam, your dedication to the Genocide of the Armenian nation by the Ottoman Turks and the subsequent denials of the Turkish leadership is priceless! Your dedication to the truths
of the politics of Genocide is outstanding! I have to force myself to remember that there are many in Turkey who know and believe as you. Howsomever, the politics of the Turkish leaderships has been and remains immature, misdirected and even as an uncivilized society – who sadly, know not how to change their mind set – unable, incapable of admitting that their history books are dishonest and, as well, even leading youths to continue – to learn hatred of the victims – Armenians, as the enemy.
It wonders me that the
turkish leaders for the Armenian Genocide – those who perpetrated the murder of a nation are honored as heroes in Turkey. But today, years later, the democratic republic of Germany stands tall and respected among nations… overcoming the madman, Hitler. May enlightened leaders of Turkey lead the way…
Manooshag
WHY is it with so many events in the community we only hear about these things AFTER they happen? Would it not have been possible to announce this talk in advance for those of us who live in cities in the NE region to travel to hear Akcam lecture? I never understand this perspective.
You are invited to…
Academic Conference on the Asia Minor Catastrophe
Westin Hotel, 6100 River Road, Rosemont, Illinois
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Hosted by The Pontian Greek Society of Chicago
Morning Session
8:00 – 8:30 Coffee and social hour
8:30 – 9:15 Opening remarks
9:15 – 9:30 Mr. George Shirinian (Director of the Zoryan Institute, Toronto Canada) Moderator
9:30 – 10:45 Dr. Taner Akcam (Associate Professor –History Dept., Clark University, Worchester, MA).
The Greek “Deportations” and Massacres of 1913-1914. A Trial Run for the Armenian Genocide
10:45 – 12:00 Dr. Constantine Hatzidimitriou (Adjunct Professor St. Johns University, NY)
Official and Unofficial American Reactions to the Asia Minor “Catastrophe” – what the Documentary Evidence Reveals
12:00 – 1:00 PM Lunch
Afternoon Session
1:00 – 2:15 Matthias Bjornlund (Historian and Researcher)
Aspects of Western Sources and Interpretations of the Pontian Genocide
2:15 – 3:30 Dr. Alexander Kitroeff (Associate Professor of History, Haverford College, PA)
The Plight of the Greek Refugees After the Break-up of the Ottoman Empire
3:30 – 4:45 Dr. Van Coufoudakis (Dean Emeritus of the College of Arts and Sciences Purdue University, Indiana)
Turkey’s Deliberate and Systematic Violations of International Agreements since 1923
4:45 – 5:00 Closing remarks by Dr. C. Hatzidimitriou
Placing the events of the Anatolian Genocide in the Broader Context of Hellenic and World History
For additional information : http://www.pontiangreeks.org.
Please call 630 303 4361 or send an email to gmavropoulos@hotmail.com
I second Janine, why we mostly hear about such interesting events and lectures after they take place and thru articles. Why can’t the people in charge announce such events, we are in the 21st century and live in a technology environment, e-mails, texts, internet etc.
Organizers, please do a better job in the future and announce to the public such events.