WORCESTER, Mass.—The Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University will host the Third International Graduate Students’ Conference on Genocide Studies, on “The State of Research 100 Years after the Armenian Genocide,” from April 9-12, 2015, in cooperation with the Danish Institute for International Studies, Department of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Copenhagen. The conference will provide a forum for doctoral students to present their research projects to peers and established scholars.
The keynote speaker will be Professor Eric Weitz, dean of humanities and arts and professor of history at the City College of New York. The conference will include discussion and comments from senior genocide scholars Cecilie Stokholm Bank, senior researcher at Danish Institute for International Studies; Matthias Bjørnlund, lecturer at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad; Lerna Ekmekçioglu, McMillan-Stewart Career Development Assistant Professor of History at MIT; Donna-Lee Frieze, research assistant, Deakin University Australia; and Christian Axboe Nielson, professor in the department of culture and society, Aarhus University; as well as Strassler Center faculty Taner Akçam, Kaloosdian-Mugar Chair in Armenian Genocide Studies; Debórah Dwork, center director and Rose Professor of Holocaust History; and Thomas Kühne, director of Graduate Studies and Strassler Family Chair in the Study of Holocaust History.
This interdisciplinary conference will reflect the full range of issues, concepts, and methods in current genocide studies research. The keynote address and a focus on papers that explore the Armenian Genocide are planned in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of 1915. Papers that put the Armenian Genocide in a broader perspective and examine the concept of the Ottoman genocide carried out against minority ethnic-religious groups, including Assyrians and Greeks, are especially encouraged. Topics may include forceful mass deportations, expulsions, and massacres during the late Ottoman period. Also invited are pertinent applications from students working on the Holocaust as well as those who focus on genocides in Africa, Asia, Australia, and America, and on the aftermath and collective memorialization of genocides.
Paper proposals from graduate students and recent post-docs (since 2012) across all disciplines are invited. The costs of travel, accommodation, registration, and meals will be covered for applicants whose papers are accepted. Interested applicants should submit for consideration: 1) a short curriculum vitae (one page maximum) including name, address, e-mail, and telephone number; 2) the title and an abstract of the paper (approximately 300 words, one page maximum, in English), addressing its basic arguments, its sources, and its relation to your dissertation project (for instance, summary, proposal, or chapter of the dissertation); and 3) a brief letter from your advisor indicating your enrollment in a doctoral program. Also invited are applications for complete panels consisting of three to four papers. Such submissions should include a panel description of approximately 500 words. The deadline for applications is Aug. 15, 2014. E-mail materials to StrasslerGradConference@clarku.edu. For more information, e-mail the conference organizer, Dr. Sarah Cushman, at scushman@clarku.edu, or the conference director, Taner Akҫam, at takcam@clarku.edu. For information on previous conferences, visit www.clarku.edu/departments/holocaust/conferences/chgsgraduate/.