Friday, April 10, 2009
"The Armenian Genocide" - Period 6
Over the past week you have seen films and read articles about The Armenian Genocide. On Thursday you heard a schoarly and informative lecture about this terrible event by Father Boghosian. As you know, the last stage of Genocide is denial. Given everything you've heard, seen, and read, what do you think should be done to make more people aware of the Armenian Genocide? Do you think that the President should give a speech about it in order to focus more attention on this emotionally charged subject?
17 comments:
I absolutely loved Father B. I thought he presented everything so well. He is the sweetest guy ever! I also loved how he was so cautious not to hurt anyone with what he had to say, even though he was just telling the truth. It shows his wonderful character. I learned a lot that I didn't know regarding the Armenian Genocide. Usually I only get my Turkish grandfathers point of view, so it was great hearing from the Armenian perspective. Overall, I thought the presentation was amazing!
I think that the President should definitely give a speech regarding this genocide. The presidents should also use the word genocide to describe this horrible atrocity.
In order for more people to understand what the Armenian genocide is and what happened, I beleive that there should be more courses like the Facing History and Ourselves class that helps people understand what really happened. I hope the ignorance that is spread throughout the world is eliminated through such programs/courses.
I think that there needs to be something done that presents the issue of the Armenian Genocide to the average joe. I think The President needs to give a speech about the Armenian Genocide in order to give it the proper focus it deserves. I know that if the President mentions that the Armenian Genocide did happen our political ties with Turkey could end. I think this is something that needs to be done in order for us to respect those who have suffered through the hands of the Muslim Turks in the Armenian Genocide. In addition throughout my schooling in the Westborough School System this is the first time I have received an in-depth look at the Armenian Genocide. I think that is a shame and that there needs to be more focus on the genocide in the Social Studies Curriculum. The Armenian Genocide is considered one of the worst Genocides along with the Holocaust and Darfur, and now it needs to be recognized and taught about so we can avoid the same mistake in the future.
I'm not sure if I should do this Blog, but yeah..
I agree with Marwa. There should be more classes in high schools that follow different happenings in the world and go in depth with historical events. Courses like History and Ourselves help to inform students of historical events that have occured around the world, including the Armenian Genocide. Before History and Oursevles, I didn't know that there ever was an Armenian Genocide. If the President was to give a speech on the genocide, it would definietly help gain awareness on this devastating topic.
I agree with Marwa, I really enjoyed father b's presentation. He was the man. I think guest speakers are a great tool in our facing history class. He was very informative and I learned a lot through his worldly views. To tell the truth, I'd never really heard of the Armenian Genocide prior to this class. Having someone come in, first hand, was great. I'd like to thank Father B for his time.
Though the U.S. has vital ties to the country of Turkey, I feel that the President should address this "Genocide" formally in public. Recognition on the U.S.'s part will help those Armenians who've suffered find closure.
In my opinion Father Boghosian gave a very enlightening speech about the Armenian genocide. I found it very interesting that at one point the Young Turks supported the Armenians and then turned against them. Also, the fact that a Jihad was declared shocked me since I had not heard of there being one for a very long time. As for the President giving a speech about the genocide, I think it should wait until a later date. There are troops in that area and it would be politically unwise to cause any commotion at this point in time. I agree with Marwa, however, that more emphasis should be put on this subject in various history classes. I believe that this was the first history class, of mine, that has even touched upon this subject.
I agree with what pretty much everyone said about Father B. He was informative and provided interesting information about the Armenian Genocide and how it is viewed today in our society that could not be given in the films or books. I learned that many past presidents, with the exception of one, have refused to identify the event as a genocide. I, like Evan, had not known about the Armenian Genocide prior to this class, and I think that in order to better educate society about this subject, more classes like Facing History should be added to highschool curriculums as well as colleges.
I felt like Father Boghosian didn't really have enough time to explain the genocide in detail. It seemed to be that he was only able to touch on the broad aspects of it like the beginning of the movie that we watched in class. However, he was informative and passionate about the subject. Its always good to have people with a deep understanding of what happened to speak to you about a subject because they actually experienced it. I'd have to agree with Ted that the President should wait at least until our troops are out of that area because if he doesn't things could just end up worse than they are for the US in that region of the world. I feel very strongly that every nation should acknowledge the Armenian Genocide but doing it now may make things bad.
I agree with Dave in that I don't feel that Father Boghosian didn't really have enough time to explain what truly occurred during the genocide. Through no fault of his own, he was limited to roughly a 40 minute block in which to explain the details of a very important, complicated event. Although he was very informative in those 40 minutes, I left feeling that there was still so much more to learn about the genocide. I think in the future that it may be a good idea to either have him in for more than one day or to try and get a better basic understanding of the genocide beforehand so that he can go into further depth. In terms of universal acknowledgment of the genocide, I feel very strongly that every nation must put pressure on Turkey to come forth and admit that the genocide did in fact take place; however, I also agree that it may be a good idea for the president to wait until our troops are safely home to apply such pressure. I do understand that Turkey helped us greatly in the Cold War, and I believe that we are indebted to them in some way - if they need help with anything in the future, I believe that it is our duty to give them some form of aid; however this help does not include helping to deny that one of the worst atrocities in human history took place.
I agree with what Barnett said about how the Armenian Genocide should be given more attention by the public. I'm not going to lie, I didn't know anything about the Armenian Genocide before we started covering it in class. I was shocked to find out that we never studied such a serious issue in school before. I think that a million deaths constitutes something that should be covered in school. I think we spend so much time covering the Haulocaust and other issues that the Armenian Genocide gets overlooked. I think that President Obama should recognize what the Turks did to the Armenians as genocide so that it will become a more widely known issue to the public.
I thought Father Boghosian was very informed and gave a great speech, and as Marwa said was trying his best to be politically correct. However, though the genocide was a horrible atrocity, I do not believe that now is the time to bring it up with the Turks, because their country acts a major stronghold for our military. I do believe that what was done to the Armenians was horrible and unforgivable, but for the United States to jeopardize its troops in the United States is not worth it. Lastly, I agree with Kevin that this event should be more widely taught, because this is the first time I had ever learned about it.
I thought the overall presentation was ok. I felt like the combination of the movie and guest speaker helped my understanding a lot about what happened. I think that there should always be a history in ourselves class throughout every school, nation wide, so that the Armenian Genocide can be taught to every individual. Genocides might be depressing topics but they are what we need to learn about in order to not let them repeat. I think the president should make a speech as well in order to spread awareness, everybody listens to the president.
I also agree with Ted that Father B's speech was enlightening. It gave a very clear look on the Armenian Genocide without so much bitterness, and yes still informed me very well.
I was not here for any of the movie clips we watched, so i was a little confused about everything that was going on in the presentation by father b. but, the background information taht he gave was nice to know, because I did not really know that before hand.
But, when it come to having more information given to the public about hte armenian genocide, i believe taht more information should be implemented from an early age in classes such as history. this way they know ealry on the importance of what happened and what needs to be done in order to stop this from happening again.
the president should make a speech about what happens, because if the president has something to say about it, it shows the public how important this topic is and how horrible it was.
Just like Marwa said Father B was very nice, and he was cautious not to hurt anyone or offend anyone with what he had to say. I got a better understanding of the genocide after he came in, and a more in depth meaning. Also, I definitely think the president should give a speech about this, so the public can be more aware or what happened and what could possibly happen. Also, just like most of the people said there should be more classes like facing history ourselves around the country to spread awareness of what has taken place in the past, and what could potentially take place.
I agree with both Max and Dave; I felt that Father Boghosian did not have nearly enough time to explain the issue of Armenian genocide. I feel like it came across in his speech- an urgency to explain the gravity of the situation, but the feeling that the message would be lost on us because he had only 45 minutes to convey it. And also, I certainly agree with Marwa; he was so sweet and seemed to have such a wonderful character. I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and was shocked that I had known so little about something so serious- it shows what a sheltered life I've lived. Going with what Barnett said, I think school systems should definitely make a bigger deal about teaching this subject.
I remember one story that stuck out to me that Father Boghosian told us. I'm probably not getting the details right but it went something like this: An Armenian man pulled out a gun on an important Turkish man and shot and killed him on the street. The Armenian man did not run but instead claimed he was innocent of no murder and that he would stand trial. Later it was found that the Turkish man whom he had killed had murdered every single one of the Armenian man's family. I thought this story was very compelling and sad, and I do not condemn the Armenian man for taking the action that he did. I know there's only ten minutes left to blog on this.. but in case any one goes on and reads this-- any thoughts on that story?
I feel bad for missing Father B.'s presentation and I'm sure I missed important information on the genocide, but from what I gathered from the video it was an awful event in history that shouldn't be forgotten the way it is. I am happy that teachers like Mr. Gallagher are uncovering this awful truth and others like it and I agree with Marwa that there should be more classes for more students to raise awareness about mistakes humans have made in the past so that they are never made again.
I also missed the presentation and I too feel bad about that. The video did do the genocide justice though and shed new light over this tragic event. I am glad that Mr. Gallagher is showing us these films and opening our eyes to things that other history teachers would brush over and not really let the kids know what happened. I agree with Marwa's point that the president should be more involved and shed light of this event to more people.
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