“Considering Genocide Testimony: Three Case Studies from the Armenian, Pontic, and Assyrian Genocides”

MISSION HILLS — Ararat-Eskijian Museum present an illustrated talk “Considering Genocide Testimony: Three Case Studies from the Armenian, Pontic, and Assyrian Genocides” by Paul R. Bartrop, PhD Professor of History Director, Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies December 07th, 4 PM Ararat-Eskijian Museum/Sheen Chapel, 15105 Mission Hills Road, Mission Hills CA 91345

This presentation considers the values and limitations that can be derived from the use of survivor testimonies, as explored through the lens of three separate accounts: those of Sevly Krikorian, “Papayiannis,” and Father Joseph Naayem, respectively from the Armenian, Pontic, and Assyrian Genocides. Each of these is taken from the author’s new book, Encountering Genocide: Personal Accounts from Victims, Perpetrators, and Witnesses. It will be argued that survivor testimonies play the most crucial role in forming our understanding of what life is like in situations of genocide. Testimonial accounts, by virtue of their special status as first-hand narratives written by people who lived through barbaric treatment at the hands of their persecutors, are our primary link to the perpetrators as viewed from the victims’ perspective.

Dr. Paul Bartrop is recognized as one of the world’s leading scholars of the Holocaust and genocide. He is Professor of History and Director of the Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida. In 2011-2012 he was the Ida E. King Distinguished Visiting Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Richard Stockton College, New Jersey.
His latest works are entitled Experiencing Genocide: Personal Accounts from Victims, Perpetrators, and Witnesses (2014) and Genocide: The Basics (2014). His major current projects
are An Historical Dictionary of Genocide in Film, and Resisting the Holocaust: Upstanders, Partisans, and Survivors, and a 4-volume encyclopaedia of genocide, Modern Genocide: The Definitive Resource and Document Collection, due for publication by the end of this year.

For more information call the Ararat-Eskijian Museum at 818- 838-4862 or e-mail ararat-eskijian-museum@netzero.net