"The Armenian Genocide" and Its Impact Today will be held from 1 - 2:30 p.m. in Room 200 of the Liberal Arts Building on the college's main campus in Livonia, Haggerty Road between Six and Seven Mile Roads.

Using documentary images, instructor Marjorie Nanian will explain how these events unfolded and how they reverberate today. The massacre in Armenia helped prompt the formation of single-issue special interest groups, and it continues to influence American foreign policy. Prof. Nanian believes that today, the oil-rich republic of Azerbaijan, with Turkey’s help, is attempting to complete the 1915 genocide against its
Armenian citizens.

In 1915, the government of the crumbling Ottoman Empire in Turkey moved to get rid of the minority Armenian Christian population. World War I afforded a convenient cover for the mass deportations, torture, and torchings of villages, a form of ethnic cleansing that was later extended to Greek and Assyrian citizens. The term “genocide” was used for the first time to describe this event, and America launched its first humanitarian aid campaign to reach “the starving Armenians.” The Nazis in Germany would later emulate the policy of genocide—with more advanced technology—for use against the minority Jewish population.
 

This presentation is one of many events and activities sponsored by Schoolcraft College's International Institute (SCII) as a part of the Winter 2010 campus-wide Focus: Middle East series. The International Institute strives to enhance the international and multicultural content of coursework, programs and other college activities to promote an appreciation of the diversities and commonalities among world cultures and promote better understanding the global forces shaping people's lives. Along with its various campus group partners and with funding from the Schoolcraft College Foundation, the SCII is able to provide these events and activities free and open them to the public. For more information on this or any other SCII events visit www.schoolcraft.edu/scii.