Los Angeles. "The Armenian Genocide and Historical Memory: Challenge of the Twenty-First Century" was the theme of an international conference that was held on Saturday, April 8, 2000, in UCLA's Dickson Auditorium from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The conference, in observation of the 85th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, considered the genocide's relevance and lessons in the new century. Scholars from diverse disciplines and most appearing for the first time in the series of UCLA Armenian Studies conferences addressed historical, political, legal and judicial, educational, literary, and psychological aspects of the genocide and its consequences.

Introductory remarks were made by conference organizer Professor Richard Hovannisian, "The Armenian Genocide, 1915-2000," followed by the first morning session. Simon Payaslian, co-author of International Political Economy with a Ph.D. in Political Science and currently a doctoral candidate in Armenian History at UCLA, spoke on "The United States Response to the Genocide"; Gary Bass, Princeton University, author of Stay the Hand of Vengeance: The Politics of War Crimes Tribunals, "Justice Thwarted: The Turkish War Crimes Trials"; and Hilmar Kaiser, European Institute University, Florence, author of Imperialism, Racism, and Development Theories and editor of the diaries of Bertha Morley as Marsovan, 1915, "From Ottoman Empire to Turkish Republic: The Continuities of Denial."

Presenters in the second morning session were Vahram Shemmassian, principal of the Merdinian school in Los Angeles, whose Ph.D. dissertation at UCLA was on Musa Dagh and who has collected multi-lingual archival materials on postwar refugee issues, "The League of Nations and the Reclamation of Armenian Survivors"; Richard Hovannisian, AEF Chair in Armenian History at UCLA, who with his students has recorded more than 800 interviews of genocide survivors, "Bitter-Sweet Memories: The Last Generation of Ottoman Armenians"; and Rabbi Steven L. Jacobs, Temple B'nai Shalom, Huntsville, Alabama, and Martin Methodist College, Tennessee, who has researched the papers of international lawyer and human rights advocate Raphael Lemkin, creator of the term genocide, "Lemkin and the Armenian Genocide."

The afternoon sessions considered the challenge of making the Armenian Genocide a part of collective historical memory, the related issues of denial and healing, and the role to be played by the Armenian state and people. The first of the sessions featured Rubina Peroomian, UCLA, author of Literary Responses to Catastrophe: A Comparison of the Armenian and the Jewish Experience and an Armenian textbook series on the Armenian Cause, "New Directions in Literary Responses to the Genocide"; Christopher Simpson, American University, Washington, D.C., specialist in communication literacy and author of Science of Coercion and the prize-winning The Splendid Blond Beast: Money, Law, and Genocide in the Twentieth Century, "The Politics of Media and the Armenian Genocide in the New Century"; Joe Verhoeven, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, noted author and international legal scholar, "The Armenian Genocide and International Law"; and Joyce Apsel, New York University, curriculum specialist on genocide education and vice president of the Association of Genocide Scholars, "Looking Backward and Forward: Teaching about the Armenian Genocide in the 21st Century."

Participants in the final session were Henry Theriault , Worcester State College, who heads the Center for the Study of Human Rights and specializes in social and political theory, "Denial and Free Speech: The Case of the Armenian Genocide"; Ervin Staub, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, noted author of works on altruism, intervention, and bystanders, including Positive Social Behavior and Morality and The Roots of Evil The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence, "Healing and Reconciliation"; and Raffi K. Hovannisian, Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS), Yerevan, first foreign minister of the new Republic of Armenia, "State and Nation: Their Roles after Independence." Discussion periods followed each session.

The conference, one of several activities marking the 40th anniversary of Armenian Studies at UCLA, was organized by the Armenian Educational Foundation Chair in Modern Armenian History, with support from the deans of the Social Sciences Division and the International Studies and Overseas Programs (ISOP), the Souren and Verkin Papazian Endowment Fund, and Professor and Mrs. David and Lucy Tuchman Eisenberg.

	Saturday, April 8, 2000, 9:30 a.m.- 6:30 p.m.
	Topic:	Presenter:	Institution:
1	Introduction – 1915-2000	Richard Hovannisian	UCLA
2	The United States Response to the Genocide	Simon Payaslian	UCLA
3	Justice Thwarted: The Turkish War Crimes Trials	Gary Bass	Princeton University
4	From Ottoman Empire to Turkish Republic - The Continuities of Denial	Hilmar Kaiser	European Institute University, Florence
5	The League of Nations and the Reclamation of Armenian Survivors	Vahram Shemmassian	Merdinian School, Los Angeles
6	Bitter-Sweet Memories: The Last Generation of Ottoman Armenians	Richard Hovannisian	UCLA
7	Raphael Lemkin and the Armenian Genocide	Steven L. Jacobs	Temple B'nai Shalom, Huntsville, Alabama, and Martin Methodist College, Pulaski, Tennessee
8	New Directions in Literary Responses to the Genocide	Rubina Peroomian	UCLA
9	The Politics of Media and the Armenian Genocide in the New Century	Christopher Simpson	American University, Washington, D.C.
10	The Armenian Genocide and International Law	Joe Verhoeven	Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium
11	Looking Backward and Forward: Teaching about the Armenian Genocide in the Twenty-First Century	Joyce Apsel	New York University
12	Denial and Free Speech: The Case of the Armenian Genocide	Henry Theriault	Worcester Sate College
13	Healing and Reconciliation	Ervin Staub	University of Massachusetts at Amherst
14	State and Nation: Their Roles after Independence	Raffi K. Hovannisian	Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS), Yerevan