Week 2 (9 September 2026) | The Armenian Genocide: Refugees, Humanitarians, and the “Mobilization of Suffering”
Section outline
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Key questions:
Why do we see and feel some people's suffering and turn a blind eye to others? When and why do we feel moved to help some people and not others?
MAP OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1915)
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PBS Documentary: The Armenian Genocide(Two Cats Productions, 2006) [60 min] [Course Reserve in Canaday Library]
[Trigger warning: experiences of rape and sexual assault are recounted in minutes 28-30 of the film]
You can now stream the film at your leisure in your preferred viewing venue. Canaday librarians have digitized the film for us and made it available to stream; here is the link:
For the unlikely event you would prefer to watch it on DVD, it will remain on course reserve in Canaday Library.
The point of this documentary is to give you a working understanding of what the Armenian Genocide was, and the circumstances under which it took place.
Questions to Answer:
(1) What were the conditions that led to the Armenian genocide (enumerate the factors you think were important)?
(2) What types of sources are used as evidence?
(3) What led to the forgetting of the Armenian Genocide?
Let me know if you have any questions.
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Paul Slovic, “‘If I Look at the Mass I will Never Act’: Psychic Numbing and Genocide,” Judgement and Decision Making, 2, No. 2 (2007): 79-95.
[Read carefully]
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Heide Fehrenbach and David Rodogno, “A Horrific Photo of a Drowned Syrian Child”: Humanitarian Photography and NGO Media Strategies in Historical Perspective,” International Review of the Red Cross 97, no. 900 (2015): 1121-1155.
[Read carefully]
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Leshu Torchin, “Ravished Armenia: Visual Media, Humanitarian Advocacy, and the Formation of Witnessing Publics,” American Anthropologist 108, no. 1 (2006): 214-219.
[read carefully]
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Margaret Anderson, “‘Down in Turkey, Far Away’: Human Rights, the Armenian Massacres, and Orientalism in Wilhelmine Germany,” The Journal of Modern History 79, No. 1 (2007): 80-111.
[Read for her argument; you do not need to read as carefully as the other pieces; focus on main point and the examples she uses to support it.]
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Maud S. Mandel, Chapter 2: "Orphans of the Nation: Armenian Refugees in France," In the Aftermath of Genocide: Armenians and Jews in Twentieth-Century France (2003): 19-51.
[Read for details and main points but do not have to read as closes as the first several articles; compare with Anderson]
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Optional Background: Hilmar Kaiser, “Genocide at the Twilight of the Ottoman Empire”, Handbook of Genocide Studies (2016), 365-85.
This optional text provides a brief, clear overview of the Armenian Genocide. If you are unable to view the film or would prefer to read a text, you can read this instead for all the necessary background. It includes additional detail and information not in the film.
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