The academic meeting titled “The Social, Cultural and Economic History of Van and the Region” organised by Hrant Dink Foundation with the support of French Embassy in Ankara, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Turkey Office and Sivil Düşün EU Programme held on November 11-12, 2016 in Hrant Dink Foundation Anarad Hığutyun Building Havak Hall. The conference, which draw attention from the public, was also simultenously followed from the website of the Hrant Dink Foundation’s website www.hrantdink.org and from the youtube channel.

1st Day

Opening Remarks - Rakel Dink

Keynote Speech - Yektan Türkyılmaz

Panel I: “Revisiting Historiography of Van 1915”

Chair Raymond Kevorkian

Ronald Suny "Tsarist Russia and the Armenians of Van, 1914-1915"
Hilmar Kaiser "Van Province in 1915 and CUP Decision Making"
Mikael Nichanian "Van 1915 : A Reevaluation of the Historiography"

Panel II: "Survivors’ Accounts and Material Remains"

Chair Ayhan Aktar

Richard Hovanissian “Van in This World, Paradise in the next”: A Personal odyssey and oral History narratives"
David Leupold "Bridging Memories on a Contested Geography:  The Lake Van Region in oral History Accounts from Eastern Turkey and Armenia"
Burçin Gerçek "Three Stories of Salvation and Resistance from the Testimonies of Genocide Survivors from Muradiye, Müküs and Erciş"
Anoush Tamar Suni "Invisible Stones, Buried Histories: The Ruins of the Armenian Community of Van"

Panel III: “Transformation and Conflicts"

Chair Hülya Adak

Suavi Aydın "Ethnic/Demographic Situation of Van and the Region in 19th Century and Tribal Movements"
Mehmet Polatel "Demographic and Socioeconomic outcomes of Hamidian Massacres in Van"
Şeyhmus Bingül "Efforts towards Ressettling and Bringing under Control the Tribes During the implementation of the Tanzimat Reforms in Van (1847-1900)"

Panel IV: “Intercommunal Relations: Armenians, Assyrians and Kurds”

Chair Kerem Öktem

David Gaunt "The Assyrians of Hakkari"
Jelle Verheij "The Beys of Müküs/Moks (Bahçesaray) (1830-1900)"
Nicholas Al-Jeloo "Timar and Saray: The Lesser-Known Assyrian Communities to the East of Lake Van"

2nd Day

Panel V: “Missionaries in Van”

Chair Ayşe Soysal

Barbara Merguerian "Van in the Early 20th Century: Perspectives from the American Mission"
Hayk Martirosyan "The Role of German Missioners’ Educational Activities in Van Province, based on German Sources (1902-1915)"

Panel VI: “Calamities and Disasters”

Chair Ronald Suny

Özge Ertem "From Kadıköy to the Villages of Van: Famine in Van and the Central Relief Committee (1880-1885)"
Vazken Davidian "Representing Plunder, Famine and Destitution: The Figure of the Beggar from Van in Late 19thCentury Constantinople Painting"
Emre Can Dağlıoğlu "The Consequences of 1895 Van Massacre: The Aghtamar Patriarch Khatchadur II’s Report"

Panel VII: “History, Memory, Place ”

Chair Ayşe Gül Altınay

Sedat Ulugana "“Filistan”: An Ancient Armenian Homeland in the north of Van Lake Before the Armenian Genocide"
Mustafa Çelebi "Memory of Place and An irrigation Dam Story: “Gola Fıraqa'"
Marlene Schafers "The Limits of Empathy: Creating Ties of Common Victimhood Between Van and Yerevan"

General Evaluation & Discussions: Ayhan Aktar