Sylvie L. Merian (Morgan Library & Museum, New York City): Slash and Burn: How Two Manuscripts Survived a Violent Past

SPONSORED BY
THE DARAKJIAN JAFARIAN CHAIR IN ARMENIAN HISTORY ● THE EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATIVE DEAN AT TUFTS UNIVERSITY ● THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT AT TUFTS UNIVERSITY ● THE ARMENIAN CLUB AT TUFTS UNIVERSITY ●
THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR ARMENIAN STUDIES AND RESEARCH (NAASR)
THE COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AT TUFTS UNIVERSITY
A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
Please join the Tufts community in honoring and recognizing the victims of the Armenian Genocide.
Wednesday, April 18, 2018, at 7:00 p.m.
Goddard Chapel, Tufts University
Reception immediately following the commemoration in
the Coolidge Room, Ballou Hall.
Parking is available in the Dowling Garage at 419 Boston Avenue and in designated on-street areas.
LECTURE
SLASH AND BURN: HOW TWO MANUSCRIPTS
SURVIVED A VIOLENT PAST
by Dr. Sylvie L. Merian
Morgan Library & Museum, New York City
When Raphael Lemkin coined the term genocide he defined not only the intent to destroy a group of people but the deliberate aim of erasing their cultural legacy. Dr. Sylvie Merian will focus on two manuscripts now held at Harvard University’s Houghton Library. Both manuscripts were violently attacked during the 1894-1896 Hamidian massacres in the Ottoman Empire. This brutal attempt to annihilate Armenian literary tradition will be contextualized through several examples of the deliberate destruction of significant cultural artifacts, not only for the Armenians but also in world history. Examining the history of cultural genocide highlights the importance of artifacts as key to the survival of the Armenian people.
Sylvie L. Merian received her PhD in Armenian Studies from Columbia University’s Department of Middle East Languages and Cultures. She has published and lectured internationally on Armenian codicology, bookbinding, silverwork, manuscript illumination, and the history of the book. She is currently Reader Services Librarian at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City.