Marsoobian to Present ‘Fragments of a Lost Homeland’ in NAASR Lecture

BELMONT, Mass.—Dr. Armen Marsoobian will present an illustrated lecture entitled, “Fragments of a Lost Homeland: Remembering Armenia,” on Wed., Sept. 23, at 7:30 p.m., at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) Center in Belmont. The lecture, based on Marsoobian’s newly published book of the same name, is co-sponsored by NAASR and Project SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives.

Cover of Fragments of a Lost Homeland — Cover of *Fragments of a Lost Homeland*

The Armenian world was shattered by the 1915 genocide. Not only were hundreds of thousands of lives lost but families were displaced and the narrative threads that connected them to their own past and homelands were forever severed. Many have been left with only fragments of their family histories: a story of survival passed on by a grandparent who made it through the cataclysm or, if lucky, an old photograph of a distant, silent, ancestor.

By contrast, the Dildilian family chose to speak. Two generations gave voice to their experience in lengthy written memoirs, in diaries and letters, and most unusually in photographs and drawings. Their descendant, Armen T. Marsoobian, uses all of these resources to tell their story in Fragments of a Lost Homeland. Unlike most Armenians, the Dildilians were allowed to convert to Islam and stayed behind while their friends, colleagues, and other family members perished in the death marches of 1915-16. Their remarkable story is one of survival against overwhelming odds in the face of peril.

Dr. Armen T. Marsoobian is professor and chair of philosophy at Southern Connecticut State University and editor of the journal “Metaphilosophy.” He has lectured and published on topics in American philosophy, aesthetics, moral philosophy, and genocide studies. He has edited five books, including The Blackwell Guide to American Philosophy and Genocide’s Aftermath: Responsibility and Repair. He is a descendant of the Dildilian family and has organized exhibitions based upon his family’s Ottoman-era photography collection.

Copies of Fragments of a Lost Homeland will be available the night of the lecture.

For more information about Marsoobian’s talk, contact NAASR by calling (617) 489-1610 or e-mailing hq@naasr.org. The NAASR Center is located at 395 Concord Ave. in Belmont.