Armenian history, Smyrna to be topic of opening lecture in Rodgers Center series

The Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education opens its annual lecture series with a talk by a renowned scholar of Armenian history and the Armenian genocide, who will discuss the history and modern implications of the 1922 Smyrna Catastrophe.

Richard Hovannisian, a chancellor fellow in
Chapman University’s Department of History
and the Rodgers Center as well as an emeritus professor of Armenian and Near Eastern History at UCLA, will present “War and Ethnic Cleansing: The Smyrna Catastrophe, 1922-2012” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5, in Beckman Hall, Room 404.

The Smyrna Catastrophe was a two-day blaze that destroyed the ancient city during the final phase of the Greco-Turkish War 90 years ago this year. In this illustrated lecture, Hovannisian will discuss the history of the event and the role it plays in the region today.

Hovannisian is the author and editor of many books, including
Looking Backward, Moving Forward: Confronting the Armenian Genocide
and
The Armenian Genocide: Cultural and Ethical Legacies.
He was honored with the first “I Witness Award” of the Jewish World Watch.

The Hovannisian lecture is the first part of the Rodgers Center series, which continues through February. More information about all the events is available at the
Rodgers Center
website or by calling 714-628-7377.