Today I thought was a really interesting class. While the teacher was talking about the even of WWI and what was going on in different areas at this time, I kept thinking that she was going to mention the condition of the Armenians. I thought her next sentence was going to be about the relationship between the Turks and Armenians and the genocide but it never came up. She finnished the lecture and then stated that she herself had never learned about the Armenians in school. I concur, students typically do not learn about it. The discussion today was mostly about why don't we learn about it? One girl raised her hand and said "I think it's because there is no actual country called Armenia." Well I guess thats an example of a reason why people do not know about it. Because they are oblivious to what is going on in the world unless ther safety is threated. Futhermore, I enjoyed "The Bastard of Istanbul" and thought it was a great way to portray the dffferences in perception of the event. Although it takes place in modern day, the point of the novel was to examine the past. I can relate a bit to how Armanoush feels about her lack of identity. I think it is very easy to feel an absense of self when none of your family wants to talk about their historical past. A student made a comment about Armenians not being "proudful". In terms of Armenians in the US, that statement is quite the contrary. Amenians that are in the US are actually very unified with one another. One might say they play the victim however another may say they are just trying to acknowledge their troubled past.
Mainly, I think people need to view history through many different lenses.
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It was strange to research the Armenian Genocide while reading the Bastard of Istanbul, as almost every source identified it as the second most studied cases of genocide after the holocaust. This seemed shocking to me, because I had never heard of the Armenian genocide in all of my public education. After giving it some thought, however, I find this completely believable because I have studied NO genocide except for the holocaust. I think that perhaps the Armenian genocide is not regularly discussed in American school curriculum because America was never exceptionally involved with the Ottoman Empire. When the Gilded Age is discussed in American history classes, the influx of Eastern Europeans around the time of the Armenian migration is noted--but the reasons for the migration is rarely examined.
ReplyDeleteI understand that schools do not focus on the Armenian Genocide, I mean Turkey still does not admit to this day that any genocide took place. I think the long time denial and resistance to teach it in American schools is because it did not directly effect American interests. America has mostly been a self-interested country, especially when somethin threatens our security.
ReplyDeleteBefore I read this novel, i never knew that the Armenian Genocide existed. I was never taught by any of my teachers about this act of genocide. I feel that more Americans should be informed about this act.
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