Turkish Historian To Study Genocide

Related Resources

Scope and Sequence

The Armenian Genocide

Theme

Time and Place

World War I

Submitted by jenniferg on June 2, 2008 - 10:45am.

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June 2, 2008

(May 29, 2008) The Boston Globe article,"Turkish historian to study genocide," announces the appointment of Taner Akcam as chairman of Armenian Genocide studies at Clark University. Akcam is the author of A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility (2006). His appointment is sparking national and international attention because his role as a scholar of the Armenian genocide puts him at odds with many people from his homeland; the Turkish government has refused to acknowledge the massacre of over one million Armenians during World War I as a genocide.

Discussion Questions

In the article, Marc Mamigonian, director or programs at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research is quoted as saying, "It's not troubling that he's of Turkish descent; if anything it's encouraging." Why might some Armenians find it encouraging that a Turkish national is a leading Armenian Genocide scholar?
Who bears the responsibility to understand the past, including "shameful acts" of the past? The perpetrators of the crimes? The victims? Both?
Taner Akcam has been threatened with prosecution in Turkey because of his scholarship around the Armenian genocide. What might motivate Turkey to imprison historians who study the genocide of the Armenians? Why would historicans and journalists, including Akcam, write about the Armenian genocide even at the risk of going to jail?
According to the article, a minority of Armenians think that the position of chairman of the Armenian studies department should have gone to an Armenian historian. Do Armenians have more of a right to tell the story of the Armenian genocide than other groups? To whom does the history of the Armenian genocide belong? The Armenians? The Turks? Is this human history? Does any group ever "own" a particular historical event?