First-Year Seminar--Non-Western History (103-6-24)

Topic

History and Politics of the Armenian Genocide

Instructors

Ipek Kocaomer Yosmaoglu
847/491-3154
Harris Hall Room 214

Meeting Info

Allison Residential Comm 1021: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

During WWI, the leadership cadre of the Ottoman state enacted a number of measures ostensibly in order to prevent the empire's Armenian population from collaborating with the Russian Army in the eastern front. Most significant among these measures was the decision to deport the Armenian population of the "critical zones" to a location where they could not act against the Ottoman military. The result was the almost complete annihilation of Ottoman Armenians, as the result of a series of events culminating in genocide, known as Medz Yeghern in Armenian, before Raphael Lemkin coined the term "genocide."

The year 2015 was the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, and witnessed the organization of commemorative events and scholarly meetings worldwide, including one at Northwestern University. There were also counter-demonstrations, most of them organized by the Turkish state that continues to deny, more than a hundred years after the events, that what happened to the Ottoman Armenians constitutes genocide. The Turkish official version seems more untenable with the appearance of each new scholarly work, and various forms of "denialism" are now defended only by a fringe group of academics. Therefore, the purpose of this seminar is not a discussion of a "question" of genocide, but rather the analysis of it—by different scholars, from different angles, and through the use of different sources.

Learning Objectives

Knowledge acquisition, critical thinking, writing

Class Materials (Required)

All the assigned readings will be uploaded on Canvas

Class Notes

History Area(s) of Concentration: European, Asia/Middle East

Class Attributes

WCAS First-Year Seminar

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for First Year & Sophomore only
Add Consent: Department Consent Required
Drop Consent: Department Consent Required