The Drowned, the Saved, and the Forgotten: Genocide Survivors and the Foundations of Modern Humanitarianism

All humanitarian emergencies are not created equal, or at least not constructed in the humanitarian imagination equally. Where they happen, who is affected, the judged “worthiness” of victims and the quality of need are among the several conditions that transform how a problem of humanity becomes a problem for humanity. Examining the international humanitarian response to the genocide of the Ottoman Armenians (1915-1922), he argues that modern humanitarianism and genocide have a complex and intertwined history that has particular relevance to concepts like humanitarian neutrality, humanitarian governance and the role of justice in relief and what would be called now, rights-based development.

Speaker
Dr. Keith Watenpaugh, Professor and Director, Human Rights Studies Program, Co-Director University of California Human Rights Collaboration, Department of Religious Studies, University of California at Davis

Biography
Professor Keith David Watenpaugh studies the history, theory and practice of human rights and humanitarianism and directs the UC Davis Human Rights Studies Program. He is author of Bread From Stones: The Middle East and the Making of Modern Humanitarianism (California, 2015) and Being Modern in the Middle East (Princeton, 2006). His work has been translated into French, German, Armenian, Arabic, Turkish and Persian.

Event details
Wed. March 22, 2017 | 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. | Health Sciences Centre (HSC), 1A6 | Open to everyone

Presented by
The Hannah History of Medicine and Medical Humanities Speaker Series at McMaster University.