The massacre of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Turks in 1915 is regarded by many as the twentieth century's first bout with genocide. Wednesday night, Dr. Claire Mouradian commemorated the deaths of many at Goddard Chapel with a lecture examining the Armenian memory of the massacre.
One of only a few scholars in Armenian studies, Mouradian specializes in Armenian history during the Soviet period. She teaches at two of Paris's most elite institutions - the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Scienes Sociales (EHESS) and the Institute Nationale des Langues et Civilizations Orientales (INALCO).
"Memory is not history. It is our present action to remember, selectively, the past," Mouradian began. Her lecture focused on how the Soviets emphasized the negative influences of the British, French and Ottomans in Armenia, while glorifying communism and the Soviet system.
Oftentimes the Soviets did not even attempt to educate the Armenian children about the genocide, she said, causing the Armenians' collective memory to fade. The country, located in the Caucus Mountains, underwent a series of border changes that further deteriorated the Armenian state.
A memory is "important...for national identity," Mouradian said, "even though it cannot be used as a creation of a nation state, like the Jews."
Up until World War II, Armenians were spread across Eastern Europe, many of them still in the former Ottoman Empire. This created a "Diaspora" of Armenians, which further eroded the national memory.
In order to preserve a sense of identity, Armenians began commemorating the genocide as early as 1919, and April 24 became the national remembrance day in 1921. Mouradian said this helped unite the Armenians, even into the 1980's.
She said Soviets, in addition to placing the blame on Western influences, often criticized the idea of an independent Armenian state, and neglected to teach Armenian history and culture in classrooms.
Mouradian argued that the Soviets avoided placing blame on Turkey because of a desire to increase Soviet power in the region and to better relations with Turkey. They went to such lengths that the Turks and Soviets denied a genocide had happened, she said. She charged Russia with using ethnic conflicts for power reasons even today, referring particularly to the conflict in Chechnya.
Overall, the issue should be treated "not only as a national one or a Turkish-Armenian issue, but as a universal one," she said. "It is a problem for all humans," she said.
Students were receptive to the event, but some said Mouradian could have been more passionate.
"It's nice to see Tufts has events like this," freshman Elizabeth Fagenholz said. "But it was a little too factual...I expected her to express more of her opinions."
Sophomore Rebecca Hayrapetian, a member of the Armenian Club, said that commemorations are held all over Boston, but that the only schools which hold them are Tufts and Harvard. "It's a good chance for students to interact with the local community."
Many of the audience members were from the local community, although a large number of students showed up. The event was sponsored by the Armenian Club and the Darakjian/Jafarian Chair in History.
