Warm-up

2. Warm-up • Under today’s agenda, complete a quickwrite in response to the following: • Consider your first, middle and last names. What meaning or significance does your name bear?Where does your name come from? What does your name say about who you are? How does your name connect to your family's history?

3. Reading: “What’s in a Name?”from Crimes Against Humanity and Civilization: The Genocide of the Armenians • As you read, underline words and phrases that shed light on the question “what’s in a name?” • Discussion: why might people change their name, or why they might go by two names? • What does it mean to have two names? How might this influence someone's identity?

4. "The Artist and his Mother" by Arshile Gorky. Gorky's birth name was VosdanigAdoian In your journal, record all of your observations about the painting. Record only what you see, not what you think it means or your opinions about the painting. Prompts: What objects do they see? Where are they placed? What colors are they? What do you notice about lines, shading, perspective, facial expressions, etc.? what do you think the painting means? What does the painting tell you about Arshile Gorky? Does it give you any clues regarding why he might have changed his name?

5. Fishbowl procedures • Students on the inside of the fishbowl respond to prompts given by instructor. • Students on the outside of the fishbowl listen and evaluate the discussion

6. WHAT I AM LISTENING AND LOOKING FORThe informal rubric for the Small Group Scored Discussion • Students commenting on what they liked, did not like, found exciting in the readings/artwork. • Students asking each other for clarification or explanation. • Students building on each other's comments. • Students disagreeing with each other. • Students relating the larger issues of the readings/artwork to modern problems, literature or their own lives. • Students posing their own questions from the readings to the group. • Body language, hand movements, for instance, or leaning forward to make a point, indicate when students are engaged with each other. They alert me to head over to that group to hear what is going on.

7. Information About Gorky • Arshile Gorky (1904-48), one of the greatest American painters, was so uncertain about how to make sense of his Armenian origins that he adopted a Russian name, telling people he was the nephew of the writer Maxim Gorky - implausibly, since this was a pen name. Arshile Gorky's real name was VostanigAdoian. Born in Khorkom, on the shores of Lake Van in eastern Turkey, he had a childhood dominated by nature, folklore and religion, marred only by the departure of his father for America. In 1915 Turkey decided to get rid of its Armenian minority. Throughout eastern Turkey, Armenian men were taken out of their villages and murdered, women and children driven on forced marches causing mass starvation. An estimated million people died. Gorky's family fled to Yerevan, now capital of Armenia. • Gorky's mother, depicted in this painting, died when Gorky was a young boy. She died of malnutrition as a result of a forced march ordered by the Ottoman government.

8. How does this information about Gorky's life influence your interpretation of this painting?

9. The Armenians and the Ottoman Empire Armenian life before 1915 Adapted from Facing History and Ourselves, which was in turn adapted from Sara Cohan & Dr. Nicole Vartanian, The Genocide Education Project

10. Where is Armenia?

11. Who are the Armenians? • Armenians have existed since 6th century B.C.E. • First people to adopt Christianity as a national religion • Lived as part of kingdoms throughout most of existence, until modern republics formed • Part of Ottoman Empire since 16th century

12. The Ottoman Empire

13. The Ottoman Empire • 1299 – 1922 • Multi-ethnic, multi-religious population under Turkish rule, including: • Greeks • Kurds • Jews • Armenians • Governance included “millet” system

14. Life under the Ottoman Empire Turks • Muslim (predominantly) • “First class” citizens • Led by Sultan Armenians • Christian • 10-15% of Ottoman Empire • Some autonomy, under the guidance of the Armenian Church • “Second Class” citizens

15. “Second Class Citizens”? • Participation in society restricted • Special taxes • Prohibition on bearing arms Note: Armenians are not the only “second class citizens” in the Ottoman Empire

16. Why do people get treated as an “other”?

17. Decline of Ottoman Empire

18. Problems for the Ottoman Empire • Poor administration and Corruption • Rise of other imperialist powers • “Sick Man of Europe” • Calls for civil and political liberties in 19th century • Sultan not serious about reforms • Greeks gain independence in 1820s (with Western European military support) • Balkan people begin armed struggle • Armenians demand democratic reforms

19. The Fight for Equality • Armenians saw themselves as part of Ottoman Empire, but by mid-1800s groups of intellectuals protested discriminatory laws, seeking government reform, though not an independent state • At this same time, Ottoman Empire experienced period of decline and lost territories to Russia, Great Britain, and other national states • This fueled suspicion regarding Russian-Armenians’ support of Armenians’ quest for human rights in Ottoman Empire

20. Armenians viewed as a threat • Geographically – split Empire • Democratic reforms could lead to demands for independence • Armenians had started to organize to push for reform and gain Western support

21. Sultan Abdul Hamid II • 1876 – 1908 • Pressure from Western governments • 1894 – 1896 “Hamidian Massacres” • 100,000 – 300,000 Armenians killed • Local Turks and Kurds, often after Friday night prayers • Police did not stop – helped if there was any resistance

22. Given this context, • What options did Armenians pursue or have available to them in their quest for civil rights? • What were the consequences of Armenian efforts?

23. Jigsaw Reading • Iron Ladles for Liberty Stew • Organizing for Change • Seeking Civil Rights • Showdown at Bank Ottoman

24. Armenians before 1915 • What options did Armenians pursue or have available to them in their quest for civil rights? • What were the consequences of Armenian efforts?

25. International Consequences • International publicity • International post of American Red Cross established • Humanitarian aid • The “Red Sultan” (aka the “Blood Sultan”) agrees to end massacres • Europeans agree to press for more reforms/protections

26. Foreshadowing • Massacres foreshadowed the Genocide • Thousands of Armenians found refuge in Europe and the U.S.; others converted to Islam to save their lives • Uniqueness of massacres caught the world’s attention: Armenians were unarmed and adhered to rules set forth by Ottoman government • Articles about the brutal killings were publicized in newspapers throughout the world, including The New York Times

27. Other Witnesses • The media was aware of the Hamidian Massacres mainly because of the presence of American and European missionaries stationed throughout the Ottoman Empire • Through their efforts and with the help of activists on American shores a tremendous amount of aid spilled into the Empire for Armenians

28. The New Century: A Moment of Hope • At the beginning of the Twentieth Century Armenians became more hopeful concerning their role in the Ottoman Empire • New organizations were forming that included both Armenians and Turks • These new groups, including the Young Turks, were initially idealist and worked to implement a constitutional government in Ottoman Empire which would provide equal rights regardless of ethnicity

29. Create a TOC entry: 10/20 “Armenian Genocide”: Notes on film • Who are the Armenian people? • What is the Ottoman Empire? Who are the Turks? • What rights did Armenians have when they lived as subjects of the Ottoman Empire? • What happened when Armenians began demanding more rights?

30. How is religion, history and national identity used to create a distinction between "we" and "they"? • Create an identity chart for Armenians and for other members of the Ottoman Empire (finish for HW)

31. Who is responsible for protecting minorities when they are mistreated? • What options did Armenians have in their quest for equal rights? What strategies did they use? • Why do you think they weren't successful in bringing about meaningful change? • Often efforts to draw attention to the plight of Armenians reinforced cultural stereotypes about Muslims. Is it possible to call attention to injustice without further reinforcing attitudes of "we" and "they"? How can advocates for victims distinguish between the perpetrators, their supporters, and cultural attitudes about the victims, without depicting the conflict as a clash between civilizations?

32. At the end of the video, we learned that the Young Turks, a new political group, had removed (ousted) the Sultan. Why you think many Armenians joined Turks and other minorities in celebrating the Sultan's removal? What challenges remained in their quest for equal treatment in the Ottoman Empire? • During the late 19th century, many countries thought that the best protection for minority groups was to gain their independence. What do you think? Should all minority groups live within their own nation? Why do you think most Armenians rejected that strategy? Would you have advised the Armenians to push for their own country rather than try to change the policies of the Ottoman government?