The Armenian Studies Program and Armenian Students Organization at California State University Fresno will commemorate the Armenian Genocide with events on Friday, April 22, and April 26. All events are free and open to the public.

The commemoration marks the 90th anniversary of the beginning of the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey.

On Friday, April 22, events will begin at noon in the Free Speech area. A variety of invited guests and students will speak, followed by the placing of flowers on a model of the Armenian Martyr’s memorial in Yerevan, Armenia. The public is welcome to participate.

At 7:30 p.m. that night, the film “Germany and the Secret Genocide” will make its Fresno premiere. It will be shown in McLane Hall, room 121, on the Fresno State campus. Directed and written by Dr. J. Michael Hagopian, the film documents Germany’s relationship with Ottoman Turkey during the Armenian Genocide. The film showing will be followed by a candlelight vigil.

On Tuesday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m. Dr. James Reid will speak on “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Armenian Genocide Narratives” in the Alice Peters Auditorium, room 191 of the University Business Center on campus.

Reid is the author of several books, including “Crisis of the Ottoman Empire: Prelude to Collapse, 1839-1878.” From 2001-2003 he was the director of the Vryonis Center, following 10 years as a senior research fellow at the center. He has written extensively on the Ottoman Empire and modern Greece. Reid holds a Ph.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles.

His talk will examine the psychological responses of both survivors of genocide and the psyche of perpetrators, a topic he has been researching for more than 20 years.

The lecture is co-sponsored by the Psychology Department at Fresno State and Armenian Students Organization. Parking will be relaxed in Lots A and J after 7 p.m. for the lecture.

For more information on the events contact the Armenian Studies Program at (559) 278-2669.

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