Dr. Bedross Der Matossian
Dr. Bedross Der Matossian, assistant professor of history at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, will discuss “The Political Culture of the Young Turk Revolution of 1908: Space, Symbolism and Language” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, in the University Business Center (Room 191).
A reception with hors d’oeuvres will precede the lecture beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the University Business Center Gallery. Parking is free in lots P5 and P6 near the University Business Center for weekend events (after 4 p.m. Fridays). A code for free parking is available for weekday events by calling 559.278.2669.
The lecture is part of the Armenian Studies Program Fall 2015 Lecture Series, with the support of the Virginia-based Ararat Foundation, founded in 1985 to promote Armenian culture and Christian faith through lectures on Armenian subjects, seminars, literature distribution and research.
Two other Armenian Lecture Series events this fall are:
- Friday, Nov. 6 (7:30 p.m.): Visiting Kazan research scholar Ümit Kurt will discuss “A Kurdish Schindler: Story of a ‘Savior’” and one lieutenant’s lifesaving efforts in the Ottoman Army. Kurt is a Ph.D. candidate for the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Program at Clark University, and he has written extensively on topics related to Armenian history.
- Wednesday, Nov. 18 (7:30 p.m.): Independent scholar Neery Melkonian will present on “What Comes after Undoing Denial: Reflections on Contemporary Art and Exhibition Practices in the Armenian Diaspora.” Melkonian is an art historian who will examine the way contemporary Armenian Diaspora art is exhibited internationally.
To kick off the fall series, Der Matossian’s talk will analyze the jubilation and the revolutionary festivities that took place in Istanbul after the Young Turk Revolution of July 24, 1908.
“Dr. Der Matossian will examine these events from the perspective of space, symbolism and language in order to explore the extent to which these rituals attempted to create a civic religion that would provide social solidarity for the ethnic groups and emphasize oneness rather than distinction,” said Dr. Barlow Der Mugrdechian, coordinator of Fresno State’s Armenian Studies Program.
Der Matossian — whose areas of interest include ethnic politics in the Middle East, inter-ethnic violence in the Ottoman Empire, the history of the Armenian genocide and modern Armenian history — is the author of “Shattered Dreams of Revolution: From Liberty to Violence in the Late Ottoman Empire,” which will be available for sale at the lecture.
Born and raised in Jerusalem, Der Matossian is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he began his graduate studies in the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. He completed his Ph.D. in Middle East history at Columbia University in 2008. From 2008 to 2010, he was a lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For the spring quarter 2014, Der Matossian was appointed as the Dumanian Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago.
For more information, contact the Armenian Studies Program at 559.278.2669, or visit www.fresnostate.edu/armenianstudies.
(Copy by Erika Denise Castañon, University Communications news assistant.)
Related Link:
Armenian Studies Program (lecture schedule)
