Speaker: Taner Akcam, Kaloosdian/Mugar Professor of History, Clark University

When Michael Hagopian made his first classic acclaimed documentary on the Armenian genocide in 1975, which won him two Emmys, he called it, “the forgotten Genocide.” Decades have passed since then and hundreds of publications in a variety of languages have been printed on the subject. Far from a “forgotten Genocide,” today the Armenian genocide holds an important place within the field of Genocide studies.

This talk will address the problems that are endemic to the field of Armenian genocide studies. What challenges do we face? How can we continue to develop an academically rigorous field amidst a toxic and politicized environment resulting from a policy of denial by the Turkish state? Akcam will delineate the different stages that Armenian genocide studies has traversed as he evaluates the state of field today.

The Dr. Berj Haidostian Annual Distinguished lectureship was established by the family of the late Dr. Berj Haidostian, a prominent and devoted physician in Michigan; the annual lecturer is selected jointly by the Armenian studies faculty and the Haidostian family from among internationally recognized experts on Armenia and Armenians. The Haidostian family has a long and continuing relationship with the University and the Armenian Studies Program.