By Hambersom Aghbashian
Fatma Müge Göçek (born, raised and educated in Istanbul) , is a Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies.( PhD 1988, Princeton University). Her research focuses on the 
comparative analysis of history, politics and gender in the first and third worlds. She critically analyzes the impact of processes such as development, nationalism, religious movements and collective violence on minorities. Her published works include East Encounters West: France and the Ottoman Empire in the 18th Century , Reconstructing Gender in the Middle East: Tradition, Identity, Power ( 1994 co-edited with Shiva Balaghi), Rise of the Bourgeoisie, Demise of Empire: Ottoman Westernization and Social Change (1996), Political Cartoons in the Middle East (Markus Wiener Publishers, 1998), Social Constructions of Nationalism in the Middle East ( 2002), The Transformation of Turkey: Redefining State and Society from the Ottoman Empire to the Modern Era (2011), and A Question of Genocide: Armenians and Turks at the End of the Ottoman Empire (Oxford University Press, 2011 co-edited with Ronald Grigor Suny and Norman Naimark).(1)
In a lecture titled “Deciphering Denial: Modernity, the Turkish State and the 1915 Collective Violence against the Armenians, 1789-2009,” at the University of Michigan(Nov.16, 2011), Gocek said “The violence against Armenians was the first instance of collective violence in Turkish history,”. Talking about what happened in 1915 against the Armenians She said, “Most scholars agree that the events were a genocide. Then she asked , why do the Turkish state and society still deny it?(2)
According to “www.armenian.ch,” Fatma Müge Göçek was one of the members of the Consulting Committee of academics who were from Turkey , Germany, USA, and France, and were supposed to participate in the First Conference on the Armenian Issue Organized in Istanbul, Turkey at Bogaziçi University during May 25-27, 2005. 
The conference was cancelled at the opening ceremony, where the Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek accused those who organized and participated in the conference of treason, calling them traitors to their country (3). The conference was held On September 24-25 2005 at Bilgi University in Istanbul after two previous attempts which were blocked by the Turkish government. It was entitled “Ottoman Armenians During the Decline of the Empire: Issues of Scientific Responsibility and Democracy”. The self-avowed goal of the conference was to call into question the official Turkish account of events. The participants discussed the plight of the Armenians in the final days of the Ottoman Empire, a politically correct way in Turkey of saying the Armenian Genocide. It was the first time this subject was ever discussed so openly in Turkey. Discussing the mass killings of Armenians has long been taboo in Turkey, and scholars who use the word genocide can be prosecuted under a clause in the Turkish penal code on insulting the national character.(4)
According to http://aghet1915.wordpress.com/recognition/, Fatma Muge Gocek is one of the Turkish intellectuals who recognized the Armenian Genocide.Halil Berktay , Taner Akçam, Murat Belge, Ahmet Insel, Bulent Peker, Salim Deringil, Ali Ertem, Murat Peker, Ugur Ümit Üngör and many others were in the list.(5)
In an interview with Gibrahayer E-Magazine (Sunday, January 01, 2006), Göçek said “It would certainly be wiser for the Turkish government to come to terms with its history. “(6)
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1-http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gocek/
2- http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Fatma_Muge_Gocek
3- http://www.armenian.ch/forum/board/viewtopic.php?
4- http://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/Conference:_Ottoman_Armenians_During_the_Decline_of_the
5- http://aghet1915.wordpress.com/recognition/
6- http://gibrahayer.blogspot.com/2006/01/interview-with-dr-fatma-muge-gocek.html
also published:
Nor Or Weekly – Thursday June 19, 2014