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It Never Happened: Denial of Genocides in the Twenty-First Century
September 29, 2023 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm PDT
FreeThroughout the twenty-first century, genocide denial has evolved and adapted with new strategies to augment and complement established modes of denial. In addition to outright negation, denial of genocide encompasses a range of techniques, including disputes over numbers, contestation of legal definitions, blaming the victim, and various modes of intimidation, such as threats of legal action. Arguably the most effective strategy has been denial through the purposeful creation of misinformation. By concentrating on factors such as the role of communications and news media, global and national social networks, the weaponization of information by authoritarian regimes and political parties, court cases in the United States and Europe, freedom of speech, and postmodernist thought, Der Matossian will discuss how genocide denial is becoming a fact of daily life in the twenty-first century.
Bedross Der Matossian is a Professor of Modern Middle East History at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Born and raised in the Old City of Jerusalem he is the author, editor, and co-editor of seven books. His latest edited volume Denial of Genocides in the Twenty-First Century was published by University of Nebraska Press (2023).