Although it's not my blog week, I still really wanted to post this topic.
Our guest on the Armenian genocide, Roxanne, was very informative and engaging. What I really like about her was that she was able to add a personal story to her presentation. Because she had family who lived during the genocide, and since she's been back there since, her story seemed tangible and clear. What most surprised me was how she described the denial of the Turkish government. I know we're going to be talking about denial in class, so feel free to add to this once we study more about it.
So for F blockers....
Here are some questions:
-What were your first impressions of Roxanne's story?
-Since there wasn't enough time at the end of class, what questions would you have liked her to respond to?
-How did this presentation enhance or affect your perception of denial?
-How is hearing about a genocide from a person who has an experience that directly relates to it (Roxanne) different from hearing about a genocide from a person who is simply an activist to stop it (Nikki)?
And also one more thing that isn't directly related to the presentation, but I've been thinking about it for a while now:
(EVERYONE RESPOND!)
Why is it that when we study World War I that we don’t hear about the Armenian genocide? I don’t remember it even being mentioned in 10th or 11th grade history classes (although this may just be my inability to recollect something like this….). Why is it that the Holocaust is given so much more attention and is known around the world when a similar thing happened to the Armenian Christians? This question really confounded me because it made absolutely no sense. (answers anyone?)
I know this was part of a previous comment of mine like a week or two ago, but nobody responded and I still think that it's really interesting.
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5 comments:
I really became more conscious of the dangers of denial after Roxanne's presentation. I think the frightening thing about denial is that the saying "the winners write the history books" is hauntingly true. The denial of the Armenian genocide has had haunting similarities to 1984. The truth is being rewritten all over - monuments, archives, and langauge are all being revised to reflect a new truth, and no one is stopping it. Generations of Turks are being raised to believe lies. Although it seems impossible that lies can become the truth, it's actually happening as we speak.
I think the Armenian genocide gets less coverage because of all of the denial occurring and because of the political complications that have arisen when countries try to say otherwise. I remember Ms. Finn telling us about how when California tried to get the genocide into the history curriculum, they received letter from the Turkish government threatening them. I think word about the genocide is slow in getting out because the silencing effort is working so well.
In response to the question about the lack of coverage of the Armenian genocide in our history curriculum: Perhaps one of the reasons the Holocaust of WWII gets more attention in history classes is because the population of Jews in America is comparatively larger than that of individuals who identify as Armenian... The Armenian population in the U.S. is about one third of the Jewish population.
I definently remember the Armenian genocide being taught, although certainly not to the extent of the Jewish one. The reason for this is that in the west's eyes the Germans commiting genocide was far more shocking that the Armenians doing so.
it's a Euro-centrism thing.
In response to Aileen's question for everyone regarding why the Armenian genocide is given less focus than the Holocaust in history classes I don't think I have a definite answer to the question. Today in class we talked about this very issue and came up with some ideas of why this may be so. One possible reason is that the Turkish government actively denies the Armenian genocide and has erased many of the records of the event, while in the case of the Holocaust those who committed the crime did not remain in power and thus were less able to erase the records of the events. We also discussed the fact that the term "genocide" had not been coined at the time of the Armenian genocide which is one of the reasons the Turkish government uses to deny that a genocide occurred, and thus may make it less likely for textbooks to label the event as a genocide.
More than anything, this discussion left me wondering about all the other genocides that we have yet to learn about and why they too have been given less attention than the Holocaust? Does the number of deaths relate to the amount of "attention" a genocide receives in history?
by the way, guys... sorry to disrupt some discussion...
there are some links that roxanne gave me after her presentation that i've put on the main site - almost all of the ones to do with the armenian genocide/armenian national committee are hers.
these sites are interesting and informative, so check them out when you've got the chance!
-coe
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