Lecture at Clark University to commemorate anniversary of Armenian Genocide
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/03/22/lecture-at-clark-university-to-commemorate-anniversary-of-armenian-genocide/
16:02 22.03.2014
Armenian Genocide, Taner Akcam
To mark the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Clark
University's Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies will
present a lecture by Professor Taner Akçam. `On Truth and Memoirs: The
Case of an Armenian Soldier in the Ottoman Army' will explore the
subject of a vigorous debate over the authenticity of a memoir
recently published in Turkey.
AkÒĞam will discuss the case of Sarkis Torossian who served as a
lieutenant in the Ottoman Army during World War I. According to his
memoir, Torossian was a graduate of a military college and a decorated
Ottoman officer who served at Gallipoli and other important battle
fronts. Learning that his parents and sister were deported and died in
the Armenian Genocide, Torossian changed allegiance. He joined the
Arab rebellion in Palestine and Syria and fought with a French
battalion against Kemalist forces in Cilicia. Akçam will consider the
veracity of Torossian's account and interpret the public debate
surrounding the memoir in Turkey. Turkish scholars Ayhan Aktar and
Edhem Eldem will comment and respond.
Torossian immigrated to the United States in 1920. In 1947, he
published his memoirs in English, `From Dardanelles to Palestine: a
true story of five battle fronts of Turkey.' Following the Turkish
translation published in 2012, reactions in the Turkish press have
been intense. Some discredited the memoir as fabricated. Others
championed its authenticity. AkÒĞam will discuss the veracity of
Torossian's account and interpret the public debate surrounding the
memoir in Turkey.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/03/22/lecture-at-clark-university-to-commemorate-anniversary-of-armenian-genocide/
16:02 22.03.2014
Armenian Genocide, Taner Akcam
To mark the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Clark
University's Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies will
present a lecture by Professor Taner Akçam. `On Truth and Memoirs: The
Case of an Armenian Soldier in the Ottoman Army' will explore the
subject of a vigorous debate over the authenticity of a memoir
recently published in Turkey.
AkÒĞam will discuss the case of Sarkis Torossian who served as a
lieutenant in the Ottoman Army during World War I. According to his
memoir, Torossian was a graduate of a military college and a decorated
Ottoman officer who served at Gallipoli and other important battle
fronts. Learning that his parents and sister were deported and died in
the Armenian Genocide, Torossian changed allegiance. He joined the
Arab rebellion in Palestine and Syria and fought with a French
battalion against Kemalist forces in Cilicia. Akçam will consider the
veracity of Torossian's account and interpret the public debate
surrounding the memoir in Turkey. Turkish scholars Ayhan Aktar and
Edhem Eldem will comment and respond.
Torossian immigrated to the United States in 1920. In 1947, he
published his memoirs in English, `From Dardanelles to Palestine: a
true story of five battle fronts of Turkey.' Following the Turkish
translation published in 2012, reactions in the Turkish press have
been intense. Some discredited the memoir as fabricated. Others
championed its authenticity. AkÒĞam will discuss the veracity of
Torossian's account and interpret the public debate surrounding the
memoir in Turkey.