Keith David Watenpaugh Speaks at NAASR

BELMONT, Mass. (A.W.)—On Jan. 28, Prof. Keith David Watenpaugh of the University of California, Davis, gave a lecture about his latest book, Bread from Stones: The Middle East and the Making of Modern Humanitarianism (Univ. of Calif. Press), at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) Center in Belmont. The lecture, which was co-sponsored by the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, focused on the theory and practice of modern humanitarianism, with a particular focus on relief efforts during the Armenian Genocide, and included readings from Watenpaugh’s new book.

Watenpaugh reads from Bread From Stones
Watenpaugh reads from Bread From Stones

Marc A. Mamigonian, director of Academic Affairs at NAASR, delivered opening remarks and invited NAASR’s newly appointed executive director, Sarah Ignatius, to speak about NAASR’s activities. Mamigonian then invited Watenpaugh, historian and Associate Professor of Modern Islam, Human Rights & Peace who teaches in the Religious Studies Program at UC-Davis, and author of Being Modern in the Middle East, to deliver his lecture.

Watenpaugh introduced the audience to his book Bread from Stones, which breaks new ground in analyzing the theory and practice of modern humanitarianism. Genocide and mass violence, human trafficking, and the forced displacement of millions in the early 20th-century Eastern Mediterranean form the background for this exploration of humanitarianism’s role in the history of human rights.

Centering the international response to the genocide of the Ottoman Armenians in the history of humanitarianism and human rights, in the book, Watenpaugh explores how organizations like Near East Relief and the rescue of a generation of trafficked Armenian children helped lay the foundations of the Diasporan Armenian community.

Watenpaugh read excerpts from the book, which dealt with the story of three orphans of the Armenian Genocide and their different experiences. He also answered questions from the audience and signed copies of Bread from Stones, which were sold that evening.

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