9th International Conference on Genocide At USC

LOS ANGELES — The USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies co-sponsored the 9th International Conference on Genocide organized by the International Network of Genocide Scholars (INoGS) and the USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research (CAGR), which took place June 23-26, 2024 at USC. The biennial convention entitled “Genocide and Survivor Communities: Agency, Resistance, Recognition” featured opening remarks by INoGS President Elisabeth Hope Murray, who dedicated the event to the late professor Dr. Richard G. Hovannisian.

Three Institute team members were among the 20 scholars who presented Armenian Studies related research.

Institute Director Dr. Shushan Karapetian presented her work titled “No Longer Post-Genocide: Claiming Armenian as Act of Resistance.”

Institute’s Chitjian Researcher Archivist Gegham Mughnetsyan presented his work titled “Armenian Displaced Persons: From Displacement to a Diaspora Community.”

Institute Project Manager Manuk Avedikyan organized and chaired the panel “Armenian Survivor Communities: Navigating and Recreating Place and Self,” which included research by Diana Hayrapetyan, Merih Erol, Vahé Tachjian, and Arman Khachatryan.

Manuk also organized and presented on the “Oral History Collection Among Armenian and Zaza/Kurdish Survivor Communities” panel with Mihran Minassian and Dicle Akar Bilgin, chaired by Hasmik Grigoryan. His talk was titled “Armenian Genocide Oral History Collection in North America During the 1970s.”

As part of the conference, on Tuesday, June 25, the Institute led a group of international genocide scholars on an excursion to Armenian Los Angeles. The scholars learned about Armenian survivor communities’ cultural, intellectual, and artistic contributions to the city’s development.

The excursion included a visit to the Montebello Armenian Genocide Martyrs Memorial Monument, lunch at the Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church, a stop at Abril Bookstore, a tour of Glendale Central Library’s ReflectSpace Gallery exhibit “Before, After: Reflections on the Armenian Genocide” and Urartu Cafe for Armenian coffee.

On June 26, the Institute opened its doors for an archives visit. Gegham Mughnetsyan showcased various items from the Institute’s collection to scholars and conference participants interested in archival collections. Visitors learned about the origins and histories of various items, from rare books and maps to photographs, vinyl records, and tapes, many of which were donated by Armenian survivor communities from Los Angeles and beyond.