Peter Morgan, on ‘British understandings and descriptions of the Armenian genocide 1915-23'
Most of the scholars working in this specific field now agree that during the First World War the authorities of the Ottoman Empire carried out a policy of genocide against its Armenian minority population. My research does not dwell on the evidence for this nor the course of events and the reasons for them. The bulk of my work looks at how British newspapers, commentators, writers and politicians discoursed on these events and how their conceptualisations, representations and visualisations developed from 1915-23. What emerges is a complex process where new, more ‘genocidal’ tropes of discourse emerge over twenty years before the modern concept of genocide was concretely defined between 1945 and 1948. However, not only was it largely forgotten by the late 1920s but the discourse also contained some alarming features in terms of British identity and complicity in 20th century methods of, and rationales for, the mass killing of civilians. My presentation will introduce these issues and give a summary of the work in progress.
The forum is designed to be complementary to the various other research seminar series and gives an opportunity for researchers to share their work with audiences from a range of disciplines in the College. It is often this cross-disciplinary exchange and the critical and creative discussion that develops that is particularly useful. All are extremely welcome to come along to any of these forum meetings. If you’ve any queries about the forum or suggestions for the future, do get in touch either with Jack Lane, Research Student Administrator, J.lane2@Brighton.ac.uk, or with any of the forum convenors.
