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If These Bones Could Speak: Early Armenian Pilgrimages to the Killing Fields of Dayr al-Zur

In this presentation, Elyse Semerdjian will outline the earliest Armenian pilgrimages to the killing fields of Dayr al-Zur in the Syrian Desert. It is there that Armenians interacted with the remains of Armenians murdered during the Armenian Genocide (1915-1918) in acts of remembrance. Semerdjian will discuss the origins of the now-destroyed Armenian Genocide Memorial in Dayr al-Zur and the ritual and collection habits of pilgrims that enact what she calls bone memory. Using archival documents alongside recorded testimony of survivors preserved in the Shoah Foundation archives, she will present the genesis of these memory practices that largely halted during the Syrian War.

Apr 26, 2023 01:00 PM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)