Armen T. Marsoobian

How Do We Memorialize Genocide? The Case of the German Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

We often acknowledge and memorialize events of human suffering through works of art. This sometimes begins as a personal statement, as was the case with Picasso’s Guernica . Oftentimes such acknowledgments take the form of a national statement, such as the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Denkmal fur die ermordeten Juden Europas) in Berlin. The Berlin memorial raises challenging moral and aesthetic questions regarding the memorializing function of such public monuments. What sorts of experiences are such memorials intended to evoke in the viewer? Is there a tension between the aesthetic experience and the “real” emotions such memorials engender? Does the didactic nature of such works rest comfortably with their aesthetic function? Are these functions mutually exclusive? Such questions are addressed in this chapter.

Collective Memory, Memorialization and Bearing Witness in the Aftermath of the Armenian Genocide

This chapter describes and analyzes an ongoing project of memorialization of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey. It explores the importance of memorialization for collective historical memory, especially in situations where historical memory has been subverted by genocide denial. Among many aspects of memorialization, its role in bearing witness is explored and highlighted. Three components of the memory project are described: (1) the photography exhibitions, (2) the publications, and (3) the creation of memory sites. The project centers on the story of the Dildilian family in Ottoman Turkey before, during, and after the genocide, covering the years 1872–1923. A microhistory of the life of the Armenian minority is chronicled by means of the personal memories and stories of members of the family. The history is richly illustrated with photographs and drawings that serve as the basis of the photography exhibitions and books. Exhibitions and associated talks and panels have taken place in Istanbul, Merzifon, Diyarbakir, and Ankara. The chapter describes and analyzes the reaction of the Turkish public to the project.

Does metaphysics rest on an agrarian foundation? A deweyan answer and critique

This paper provides an analysis of John Deweys appreciation of the effects of the emergence of agriculture on the patterns of Western thought. It shows the role played by this agrarian theme in Deweys own critique of the dominant values inherent in Western metaphysics.