PROPOSAL TYPE
Roundtable
SEEKING
- Seeking Additional Presenters
- Seeking General Feedback and Interest
- Seeking Specific Expertise
RELATED TOPICS
- Advocacy
- Memory
- Museums/Exhibits
- Social Justice
ABSTRACT
On April 23, 2025, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in Yerevan opened Documenting the Crime: Eyewitness Records of the Armenian Genocide, a temporary exhibition drawing on testimonies from diplomats, missionaries, journalists, and relief workers. These accounts form a foundational body of evidence for understanding the Armenian Genocide of 1915, carried out in what is now Turkey. They reveal that the genocide was widely known and internationally visible, yet it was nevertheless “successfully” carried out. While centered on the Armenian case, the exhibition raises a larger question that extends across time and place: What does it mean for a museum to display mass violence that the world already knew about but failed to prevent?
DESCRIPTION
I need several panelists to form a panel, and I would also like feedback from other scholars. The abstract is very tentative, and we can work on it together to improve it.
This roundtable will bring together public historians working on exhibitions of mass violence in diverse geographical and temporal contexts. Participants will explore how museums can mobilize objects, narratives, and programming to confront historical indifference, foster public reflection, and contribute to social change. By comparing approaches across different cases, the session will examine strategies, challenges, and responsibilities for museums addressing morally and politically complex histories of violence.
If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to pass along someone’s contact information confidentially, please get in contact directly:
Gevorg Vardanyan, UCLA , Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, [email protected]
All feedback and offers of assistance should be sent by November 15, 2025. If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.
Hi Gevorg: I happen to have just met with Irmgard Zuendorf, a public historian in Germany who is working on similar questions with a cohort of people. She would be a great contact for you.
Dr. Irmgard Zündorf
[email protected]
Leibniz-Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung
Am Neuen Markt 1
D-14467 Potsdam
Büro: 0331/28991-13
I’d add to Denise’s comment above that there are lots of good folks working on related questions at the University of Amsterdam at the moment. You might reach out to Nanci Adler or others in her research group: https://ahm.uva.nl/profile/a/d/n.d.adler/n.d.adler.html
I suggest reaching out to the New York State Museum (9/11 exhibit), the 9/11 Museum in NYC, or the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. They have been doing this work for decades and can offer a lot to the subject. I can help if you need names.
Thank you!
Thank you!!
Thank you! Yes, please!