Founding Acts: Historical Perspectives into State Violence from the late Ottoman Empire to the Early Turkish Republic
A Symposium Convened by Dr. Zeynep Ertuğrul, Sakıp Sabancı Center for Turkish Studies
PROGRAM
9:45 AM - 10:00 AM | Welcome and Opening Remarks
PANEL 1 Discussant, Edhem Eldem - Columbia
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM: From Apology to Apologist: Halide Edip Adıvar in the Face of the Armenian Massacres
Lerna Ekmekçioğlu - MIT
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM: From Vengeful Sons to Founding Fathers: Fatherhood and Masculinity in the Memoirs of the Unionists
Duygu Taşalp - UCLouvain
11:00 AM - 11:30 AM: Revolutionaries, Smugglers, and Pilgrims: Armenian Survivors Venturing into Early Republican Turkey
Khatchig Mouradian - Columbia
11:30 AM - 12:00 AM: Open Discussion and Q&A
PANEL 2 Discussant, Lale Can - CUNY
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM: Preaching the Never - Ending War in Dersim (1937-1938)”
Zeynep Ertuğrul - Columbia
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM: Ottoman Roads to Dersim ’38: Engineering the Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish State
Cevat Dargın - Norwich
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM: Layers of Silence: The Lost Legacy of African Slavery and Encounters with Blackness in Early Republican Turkey
Ezgi Çakmak - Towson
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM: A Republican Muhacir: Who Was and Was Not Welcome in Early Republican Turkey
Vladimir Hamed-Troyansky - UC Santa Barbara
4:00 PM - 4:30 PM: Open Discussion, Q&A and Closing Remarks
Event Details:
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Columbia University, Fayerweather Hall, Room 413
9:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Register here.
Registration is required for both Columbia and non-Columbia guests.
Non-Columbia guests must register with their full names by March 1st to receive a campus access code for entry. You will receive a QR code from the email subject line “CU Guest Access.” Please bring a valid photo ID.
Please note: This event may be recorded and photographed. By attending, you consent to Columbia University using such recordings for promotional purposes.
This event is sponsored by the Columbia University Armenian Center, the Sakıp Sabancı Center for Turkish Studies, and the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies (MESAAS)
