Open to the Cornell community.

In 1997, Azerbaijan launched a state program of cultural erasure that resulted in the destruction of nearly every vestige of the medieval and early modern Armenian past in the exclave of Nakhchivan. In a year-long forensic investigation, Caucasus Heritage Watch (CHW), a collaboration between researchers at Cornell and Purdue universities, conducted a detailed forensic analysis to systematically document the disappearance of over a hundred Armenian heritage sites. The resulting report bears witness to a new form of heritage crime and supports legal efforts to hold perpetrators accountable. CHW’s work poses new questions in heritage studies: What is the role of the researcher in documenting crimes? How can scholars create evidence that can be used in a court of law in struggles against racial discrimination? This presentation will provide an overview of CHW’s work to document silent erasure in Azerbaijan and address the challenges and stakes of archaeology in the maelstrom of politics and conflict.

Speakers
Lori Khatchadourian, Near Eastern Studies
Adam Smith, Anthropology

Presented by Critical Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Studies. Co-sponsored by the Institute for European Studies, Near Eastern Studies, Anthropology, the Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies, and the Armenian Students Organization.

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