CALL FOR PAPERS
The Ottoman Turkish Genocides of Anatolian Christians: A Common Case Study, Chicago, IL, USA, May 10-11, 2013
The Asia Minor and Pontos Hellenic Research Center (AMPHRC), the Armenian National Committee (ANC), and the Assyrian Center for Genocide Studies (ACGS) invite submissions of manuscript abstracts for an upcoming conference entitled “The Ottoman Turkish Genocides of Anatolian Christians: A Common Case Study.”
The goal of the conference is to promote academic and critical examination of the Genocides of the Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish government at the beginning of the 20th century resulting in mass extermination of at least 2.5 million Christians, the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of others, the theft of vast amounts of wealth and property and the destruction of thousands of cultural artifacts and religious sites.
This conference will be an opportunity for an inter-disciplinary investigation of the Ottoman Turkish Genocides as a large case study consisting of the individual cases –Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek – which can be comparatively examined to yield new insight into the overall strategy, planning and execution of the campaign to eliminate the native Christian populations of Asia Minor and its aftermath. Submissions from all social science disciplines are encouraged with a suggested (but not necessarily exclusive) focus on the following:
1. Legal Aspects of the Genocides of the Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks
This may viewed from various perspectives, including
• The legal framework employed by the Ottoman Turkish government for the arrests, executions, deportations, property
expropriations, etc. prior to, during, and subsequent to the Genocides;
• The pursuit of legal remedies for crimes committed during the Genocides, including the Genocides themselves and their
legal basis in both international and republican Turkish law.
2. Causes of the Ottoman Turkish Genocides
This might include areas such as
• The influence of the Pan-Islamic and Pan-Turanist movements
• The aftermath of the Balkan wars and the influx of Moslem refugees
3. Prelude to the Ottoman Turkish Genocides
Presentations might look at the situation faced by Christian minorities in Asia Minor prior to the Genocides and their
reaction to them
• Measures taken by the Ottoman Turkish government in preparation for the Genocides
• Scapegoating and stereotyping – similarities and differences in Ottoman perception and treatment of Armenians,
Assyrians, and Greeks
• Political advocacy of the Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks before and after the 1908 Ottoman Revolution – what were
their demands, what were their methods?
4. Aftermath of the Ottoman Turkish Genocides
Among subjects to be considered:
• Creation of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Diasporas – Similarities and differences in the community structures
established to deal with the physical and psychological trauma of the Genocides, maintenance of cultural identity and
strategies for recognition and restitution
• Treatment of the residual Armenian, Assyrian and Greek population in Turkey, and their respective cultural and religious institutions and landmarks
• Distribution of expropriated wealth and properties within Ottoman and Republican Turkey
• Oral history of the Genocides as told by the current population of eastern Asia Minor
5. Scholarship on the Ottoman Turkish Genocides
This area would focus on the present state of scholarship on the Ottoman Turkish Genocides possibly including:
• An assessment of existing centers of source material regarding the Genocides, including government, corporate and
private archives, their contents and their accessibility
• A review of important analysis and source material which are currently not accessible to English-speaking scholars and
researchers. Although English-language materials regarding the Armenian Genocide are more readily available than those of the Greek and Assyrian Genocides, there remains a considerable body of documentation that is inaccessible to most scholars because of language limitations for for all three Genocides.
Guidelines: Authors are asked to submit a manuscript abstract of 1000 words or less on any of the themes described above or other related topic for presentation at the conference. References can be added separately.
DEADLINE for SUBMISSION: February 15, 2013.
EMAIL: Abstracts must be submitted electronically via www.hellenicresearchcenter.org, email
info@hellenicresearchcenter.org
NOTIFICATION of ACCEPTANCE: February 28, 2013.
Upon selection for presentation at the conference, authors will be required to submit a manuscript of not more than 40 double-spaced typewritten pages, including tables, appendices, and endnotes. Manuscripts are to follow the Chicago Manual of Style format for notes and number/caption any tables or appendices. Manuscripts must not have been published previously or be submitted simultaneously to any other journal or conference, and must be the original work of the author. The manuscripts presented at the conference will be compiled, edited and published following the conference.
All Arabic, Armenian, Assyrian, Greek, Kurdish, Persian, and/or Turkish words must be transliterated in conformity with the Middle East Studies Association’s (MESA) style. The author is responsible for accuracy and consistency of transliteration and foreign word usage.
NOTE: In addition to an honorarium, participants will be reimbursed for their travel and lodging expenses for the conference.