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First Conference on the Armenian Issue Organized in Istanbul, Turkey
>>From the 25th to the 27th of May, Istanbul will be the host of
a conference dedicated to the Armenian genocide. However, unlike
most conferences dedicated to the "Armenian issue", this conference,
entitled "Ottoman Armenians during the Decline of the Empire: Issues
of Scientific Responsibility and Democracy", features scholars whose
views do not echo the denialist rhetoric of the Turkish state.
A number of Turkish scholars, mostly from outside Turkey, have been
quite vocal on the issue of making their country face its past. The
fact that three private universities in Turkey and a large number of
scholars living in the country are involved in this conference is yet
another indication, that the wall of silence is gradually crumbling.
Below is the English translation of the press release and conference
program provided to us by professor Muge Gocek, Associate Professor
of Sociology and Women's Studies at the University of Michigan and
a member of the Consulting Committee of the conference.
--------------------------------------------------------
During 25-27 May 2005, there will be a conference organized at Bogazici
University. The hosts of the conference are the Comparative Literature
Department of Bilgi University, the History Department of Bogazici
University and the History Program at Sabanci University. The title of
the conference is "Ottoman Armenians during the Decline of the Empire:
Issues of Scientific Responsibility and Democracy."
Only Turkish scholars will participate in this conference which is
not international in character. As a consequence, the working language
of the conference will be entirely in Turkish. Only an invited group
of people will be able to attend the conference because of limited
space and the vast interest expressed in the proceedings.
The Organizing Committee of faculty members from the three
participating universities are, in alphabetic order, Murat Belge
(chair, Comparative Literature Department, Bilgi), Halil Berktay
(coordinator, History Program, Sabanci), Selim Deringil (chair,
History Department, Bogazici), Edhem Eldem (History Department,
Bogazici), Hakan Erdem (History Program, Sabanci), Çaglar Keyder
(Sociology Department, Bogazici), Cemil Kocak (History Program,
Sabanci), and Aksin Somel (History Program, Sabanci).
In addition, the Consulting Committee of academics from Turkey and
abroad comprises, in alphabetical order, of Fikret Adanir (Bochum
Ruhr University, Germany), Engin Akarli (Brown University, USA),
Taner Akcam (University of Minnesota, USA), Ayhan Aktar (Marmara
University, Turkey), Seyla Benhabib (Yale University, USA), Ustun
Erguder (Director of Istanbul Policy Center at Sabanci University,
Turkey), Fatma Muge Gocek (University of Michigan, USA), Nilufer Gole
(Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, France), Cemal Kafadar
(Harvard University, USA), Metin Kunt (Sabanci University, Turkey),
Serif Mardin (Sabanci University), Oktay Ozel (Bilkent University,
Turkey), Ilhan Tekeli (Middle East Technical University, Turkey),
Mete Tuncay (Bilgi University, Turkey), Stefan Yerasimos (Universite
Paris VIII, France). The schedule of the conference already contains
more than thirty papers to be delivered at ten sessions, a number of
panels and a round table discussion. The organizers of the conference
regretfully note that they have been unable to include many valuable
suggestions that would have made the schedule much richer because of
the large number of interested participants and the need to contain
all the proceedings in three days.
According to the conference organizers, it is time today, ninety
years after 1915, this tragic event in the history of our country,
for Turkey's own academics and intellectuals to collectively raise
their voices that differ from that of the official [state] theses
and put forth their own contributions. Turkish society that has
grown, differentiated within itself, and opened to the world has
accumulated both qualitatively and quantitatively an impressive amount
of independent and critical thought. This accumulation already
covers a rather large spectrum, achieves breadth and depth along
the intellectual circles of historians, social scientists, writers,
publishers, lawyers, journalists and independent intellectuals,
and now wants to make its own voice heard and thus come of age as
an intellectual generation with its own free and autonomous ideas.
The conference organizers express the common denominator of this new
formation to be the recognition of a responsibility of conscience.
This is not solely a responsibility in reference to scientific truth or
world citizenship, but also a responsibility toward our own country,
society and democracy. It is once again Turkey that would benefit
the most from the emergence of different, critical and alternative
voices and the portrayal of multiplicity of ideas contained in
Turkish society.
-------------------------------------
>>From the 25th to the 27th of May, Istanbul will be the host of
a conference dedicated to the Armenian genocide. However, unlike
most conferences dedicated to the "Armenian issue", this conference,
entitled "Ottoman Armenians during the Decline of the Empire: Issues
of Scientific Responsibility and Democracy", features scholars whose
views do not echo the denialist rhetoric of the Turkish state.
A number of Turkish scholars, mostly from outside Turkey, have been
quite vocal on the issue of making their country face its past. The
fact that three private universities in Turkey and a large number of
scholars living in the country are involved in this conference is yet
another indication, that the wall of silence is gradually crumbling.
Below is the English translation of the press release and conference
program provided to us by professor Muge Gocek, Associate Professor
of Sociology and Women's Studies at the University of Michigan and
a member of the Consulting Committee of the conference.
--------------------------------------------------------
During 25-27 May 2005, there will be a conference organized at Bogazici
University. The hosts of the conference are the Comparative Literature
Department of Bilgi University, the History Department of Bogazici
University and the History Program at Sabanci University. The title of
the conference is "Ottoman Armenians during the Decline of the Empire:
Issues of Scientific Responsibility and Democracy."
Only Turkish scholars will participate in this conference which is
not international in character. As a consequence, the working language
of the conference will be entirely in Turkish. Only an invited group
of people will be able to attend the conference because of limited
space and the vast interest expressed in the proceedings.
The Organizing Committee of faculty members from the three
participating universities are, in alphabetic order, Murat Belge
(chair, Comparative Literature Department, Bilgi), Halil Berktay
(coordinator, History Program, Sabanci), Selim Deringil (chair,
History Department, Bogazici), Edhem Eldem (History Department,
Bogazici), Hakan Erdem (History Program, Sabanci), Çaglar Keyder
(Sociology Department, Bogazici), Cemil Kocak (History Program,
Sabanci), and Aksin Somel (History Program, Sabanci).
In addition, the Consulting Committee of academics from Turkey and
abroad comprises, in alphabetical order, of Fikret Adanir (Bochum
Ruhr University, Germany), Engin Akarli (Brown University, USA),
Taner Akcam (University of Minnesota, USA), Ayhan Aktar (Marmara
University, Turkey), Seyla Benhabib (Yale University, USA), Ustun
Erguder (Director of Istanbul Policy Center at Sabanci University,
Turkey), Fatma Muge Gocek (University of Michigan, USA), Nilufer Gole
(Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, France), Cemal Kafadar
(Harvard University, USA), Metin Kunt (Sabanci University, Turkey),
Serif Mardin (Sabanci University), Oktay Ozel (Bilkent University,
Turkey), Ilhan Tekeli (Middle East Technical University, Turkey),
Mete Tuncay (Bilgi University, Turkey), Stefan Yerasimos (Universite
Paris VIII, France). The schedule of the conference already contains
more than thirty papers to be delivered at ten sessions, a number of
panels and a round table discussion. The organizers of the conference
regretfully note that they have been unable to include many valuable
suggestions that would have made the schedule much richer because of
the large number of interested participants and the need to contain
all the proceedings in three days.
According to the conference organizers, it is time today, ninety
years after 1915, this tragic event in the history of our country,
for Turkey's own academics and intellectuals to collectively raise
their voices that differ from that of the official [state] theses
and put forth their own contributions. Turkish society that has
grown, differentiated within itself, and opened to the world has
accumulated both qualitatively and quantitatively an impressive amount
of independent and critical thought. This accumulation already
covers a rather large spectrum, achieves breadth and depth along
the intellectual circles of historians, social scientists, writers,
publishers, lawyers, journalists and independent intellectuals,
and now wants to make its own voice heard and thus come of age as
an intellectual generation with its own free and autonomous ideas.
The conference organizers express the common denominator of this new
formation to be the recognition of a responsibility of conscience.
This is not solely a responsibility in reference to scientific truth or
world citizenship, but also a responsibility toward our own country,
society and democracy. It is once again Turkey that would benefit
the most from the emergence of different, critical and alternative
voices and the portrayal of multiplicity of ideas contained in
Turkish society.
-------------------------------------