Conference on Genocide to be held at University of Nebraska-Lincoln

February 10, 2015 - 13:24 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - On the occasion of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) will host a two-day conference from March 19-20, 2015 entitled “Crossing the Centennial: The Historiography of the Armenian Genocide Re-Evaluated”.

Organized by Prof. Bedross Der Matossian from the Department of History at UNL, the conference is sponsored by the Norman and Bernice Harris Center for Judaic Studies, the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) in Belmont, Mass., the Society for Armenian Studies (SAS), the Department of History, the Faculty Senate Convocation Committee, the Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs Program, the Women’s and Gender Studies program, and the Institute of Ethnic Studies at UNL, Asbarez reports.

The conference will focus on four under-researched themes that have recently gained scholarly attention and analytical depth: a) humanitarianism and humanitarian intervention in the Armenian Genocide; b) women and children in the Armenian Genocide; c) comparative dimensions of the Armenian Genocide; d) and the impact of the Armenian Genocide on society, politics, literature, and culture.

Twenty-two scholars from Armenia, Cambodia, Canada, Holland, Hungary, Israel, and the United States representing 17 different academic institutions will participate in five panels of the conference.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.