Genocide Commemoration at Tufts to Feature Lecture by Claire Mouradian

MEDFORD, Mass.—Tufts University, the Darakjian-Jafarian Chair in Armenian History, the Department of History, the Armenian Club at Tufts University, and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) will sponsor the Commemoration of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide at Tufts on Wed., April 15, at 7 p.m. The event will feature a lecture by Dr. Claire Mouradian of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CRNS) in Paris, France, entitled, “A Century of Oblivion: The Time Has Come to Listen to the Voices of the Victims.” The evening will be hosted by Ina Baghdiantz McCabe, Professor of History and Darakjian-Jafarian Chair of Armenian History at Tufts University.

The commemoration and lecture will take place in Goddard Chapel on Tufts’ Medford campus. A reception will follow in the Coolidge Room in nearby Ballou Hall.

For the first time, Mouradian explores a collection of private letters written in 1915-19 by survivors in the Ottoman Empire to their relatives in the United States. This correspondence is a first-hand account of events and uncovers an intimate record of their lives. The necessity for scholars to confront the continuing denial of the Turkish state has led historians to give priority to archival research, external diplomatic testimonies, and eyewitness accounts over the voices of the victims. These letters highlight the consequences of the Armenian Genocide on families and individuals and will be read as a tribute to their memory.

Claire Mouradian is a director of research at the CNRS, Paris, and is in charge of the section on the Caucasus within the Centre d’Etudes des Mondes Russe, Caucasien et Centre-Européen (CERCEC) at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS). She is the author and editor of numerous books and articles including, Caucase, terres d’empire, (2005) L’Arménie, (2002), and De Staline à Gorbatchev: histoire d’une république soviétique, l’Arménie (1990).

She has organized many exhibits, seminars, and conferences and has given lectures on Armenian history and on the Armenian Genocide in numerous universities across the globe. She is also the official translator to François Hollande during his trips to Armenia.

For more information about the lecture, contact NAASR by calling (617) 489-1610 or e-mailing hq@naasr.org, or e-mail Prof. McCabe at ina.mccabe@tufts.edu.