Violence and the Archives

Episode 381
with Ümit Kurt & Owen Millerhosted by Chris Gratien and Seçil Yılmazpresented by Sam Dolbee
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The historian who wishes to study episodes of mass violence is confronted by numerous challenges. Perpetrators of violence may seek to obscure or distort historical events; victims are often left without a voice. Accounts found in newspapers, books, and archives may offer vivid detail but frame events in a biased or incomplete manner. How can the scholar account for diverging narratives or subjective experiences of violence while seeking to separate facts from fiction? In this episode, we speak to Ümit Kurt and Owen Miller, two scholars who have studied the Armenian massacres of the 1890s and the Armenian Genocide through the cases of Aintab and Sasun respectively. We will discuss perils and possibilities of studying violence in the late Ottoman Empire, and we'll learn about the different perspectives on the past that await researchers in the archive and beyond.
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