Akcam to Deliver Lecture on Genocide, National Security

WORCESTER, Mass.—Clark University’s newly appointed Kaloosdian/Mugar Professor of Armenian Genocide Studies and Modern Armenian History, Taner Akcam, will deliver a lecture entitled “Facing History: A Threat to National Security? The Relationship Between Turkish and American National Security Concepts and the Armenian Genocide,” on Thurs., March 19 in Worcester.

Akcam is widely recognized as one of the first Turkish scholars to write extensively and authoritatively on the Turkish genocide of the Armenians in the early 20th century, and notes that, when confronted with Turkish history, especially the Armenian Genocide, many people in Turkey grow prickly. Why are demands for Turkey to come to terms with its past, from both inside and outside the country, so vehemently rejected? Why is facing history seen as a threat to national security? Akcam will explore these questions at the lecture and contextualize the Armenian Genocide issue within current debates over human rights and national security, arguing for a solution that integrates pragmatism with values.

Akcam grew up in Turkey, where he was imprisoned for his participation in and fervent support for free press publications. Following a dramatic escape, he later received political asylum in Germany, where he earned a Ph.D. from the University of Hannover and worked with the Hamburg Institute for Social Research. In 2007, the Armenian Bar Association presented the Hrant Dink Freedom Award to Akcam as “a champion of historical truth about the Armenian Genocide and for his courageous defense of liberty and free speech.”

Akcam’s life and work have been featured in four critically acclaimed documentary films, and he is the author of 10 scholarly works, as well as numerous articles. His most recent book, A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility (Metropolitan Books), was released in 2006.

The event begins at 7:30 p.m. in Tilton Hall, 2nd floor of the Higgins University Center, 950 Main St. in Worcester. It is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a reception. For more information, call (508) 793-8897.