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PRESS RELEASE
National Association for Armenian
Studies and Research (NAASR)
395 Concord Avenue
Belmont, MA 02478
Tel.: 617-489-1610
Email: [email protected]
ARMEN MARSOOBIAN TO PRESENT `THE STORY OF AN `ISLAMIZED' ARMENIAN
FAMILY' IN LAS VEGAS LECTURE
Prof. Armen Marsoobian will give an illustrated lecture
entitled `Survival and Resistance in the Heart of Darkness: The Story
of an `Islamized' Armenian Family in Marsovan, 1915-1919,' on Sunday,
March 9, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. at St. Garabed Armenian Church, 2054
E. Desert Inn Rd., Las Vegas, NV. The lecture is co-sponsored by
St. Garabed Church, the Armenian American Cultural Society of Las
Vegas, and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research
(NAASR).
Prof. Armen Marsoobian will present the story of an `Islamized'
Armenian family, the Dildilian-Der Haroutiounian family, from the time
shortly before their conversion in August 1915 to the restoration of
their Christian Armenian identity in the spring of 1919. Based upon
extensive family memoirs, letters, photographs, and oral testimony, he
describes what daily life was like for members of the family during
this period.
Of the approximately 12,000 Armenians living in Marsovan (Merzifon)
and its associated villages, a small number remained behind at the
conclusion of the deportations in August 1915. The heads of these
households held occupations that were deemed essential to the economy
of the city and were allowed to remain on the condition that they
convert to Islam and adopt Turkish identity. Tsolag Dildilian was a
military photographer and was given such an opportunity. He was thus
able to save members of his immediate family in Marsovan.
The family maintained a dual identity, living their Christian faith
and Armenian identity at home but living as Muslim Turks in the
community. Upon the conclusion of the war, the family played an
important role in rescuing orphans and restoring the Armenian
identities of the converts. With the rise of the nationalist
movement, the family's activities in support of Armenian survival
became suspect, forcing them to flee Turkey in 1922. The presentation
will be richly illustrated with photographs.
Armen Tsolag Marsoobian is Professor and Chairperson of Philosophy at
Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. He has twice been
the Nikit and Eleanora Ordjanian Visiting Professor in Armenian
Studies, Department of Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies,
at Columbia University where he has taught a graduate seminar,
`Memories of the Armenian Genocide: An Exploration through Memoir,
Literature, and the Arts.' He has co-edited five books, including
Genocide's Aftermath: Responsibility and Repair (with Claudia Card)
(2007), The Philosophical Challenge of September 11 (2004), and The
Blackwell Guide to American Philosophy (2004). He has published
articles and book chapters in aesthetics, moral philosophy, genocide
studies, and American philosophy. His essay, `Rescue in Marsovan: The
Untold Story Behind a Photograph,' won the Hrant Dink Prize for
Historical Research in 2011.
From: Baghdasarian
National Association for Armenian
Studies and Research (NAASR)
395 Concord Avenue
Belmont, MA 02478
Tel.: 617-489-1610
Email: [email protected]
ARMEN MARSOOBIAN TO PRESENT `THE STORY OF AN `ISLAMIZED' ARMENIAN
FAMILY' IN LAS VEGAS LECTURE
Prof. Armen Marsoobian will give an illustrated lecture
entitled `Survival and Resistance in the Heart of Darkness: The Story
of an `Islamized' Armenian Family in Marsovan, 1915-1919,' on Sunday,
March 9, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. at St. Garabed Armenian Church, 2054
E. Desert Inn Rd., Las Vegas, NV. The lecture is co-sponsored by
St. Garabed Church, the Armenian American Cultural Society of Las
Vegas, and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research
(NAASR).
Prof. Armen Marsoobian will present the story of an `Islamized'
Armenian family, the Dildilian-Der Haroutiounian family, from the time
shortly before their conversion in August 1915 to the restoration of
their Christian Armenian identity in the spring of 1919. Based upon
extensive family memoirs, letters, photographs, and oral testimony, he
describes what daily life was like for members of the family during
this period.
Of the approximately 12,000 Armenians living in Marsovan (Merzifon)
and its associated villages, a small number remained behind at the
conclusion of the deportations in August 1915. The heads of these
households held occupations that were deemed essential to the economy
of the city and were allowed to remain on the condition that they
convert to Islam and adopt Turkish identity. Tsolag Dildilian was a
military photographer and was given such an opportunity. He was thus
able to save members of his immediate family in Marsovan.
The family maintained a dual identity, living their Christian faith
and Armenian identity at home but living as Muslim Turks in the
community. Upon the conclusion of the war, the family played an
important role in rescuing orphans and restoring the Armenian
identities of the converts. With the rise of the nationalist
movement, the family's activities in support of Armenian survival
became suspect, forcing them to flee Turkey in 1922. The presentation
will be richly illustrated with photographs.
Armen Tsolag Marsoobian is Professor and Chairperson of Philosophy at
Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. He has twice been
the Nikit and Eleanora Ordjanian Visiting Professor in Armenian
Studies, Department of Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies,
at Columbia University where he has taught a graduate seminar,
`Memories of the Armenian Genocide: An Exploration through Memoir,
Literature, and the Arts.' He has co-edited five books, including
Genocide's Aftermath: Responsibility and Repair (with Claudia Card)
(2007), The Philosophical Challenge of September 11 (2004), and The
Blackwell Guide to American Philosophy (2004). He has published
articles and book chapters in aesthetics, moral philosophy, genocide
studies, and American philosophy. His essay, `Rescue in Marsovan: The
Untold Story Behind a Photograph,' won the Hrant Dink Prize for
Historical Research in 2011.
From: Baghdasarian