USC Shoah Foundation Executive Director Stephen Smith was invited to speak at the Council of American Jewish Museums (CAJM)’s annual conference and the Ararat Home of Los Angeles’s Armenian Genocide Centennial Commemoration.

On Tuesday, March 10, 2015, the USC Center for Advanced Genocide Research hosted a lecture from Dr. Peter Hayes who spoke before a packed room at USC on the complex relationship between anti-Semitism and homophobia exerted in Nazi-occupied territories during World War II. The Theodore Zev Weiss Holocaust Educational Foundation Professor at Northwestern University specializes in 20th-century German History, writing extensively on German industry under the Nazis. Monday's lecture, however, focused on the evolution of his views on a comparison that he was previously reluctant to address.

These resources make it possible for anyone to embark on the IWalks and hear the stories of survivors in the authentic locations where they experienced the Holocaust.

The research of these panelists sheds light on various challenges in mediating oral histories. Is it possible to mediate oral histories in an archive and respect the authenticity and nuance of individual narratives that fall into a larger narrative, for instance in an archive? Questions of translation, distortion, and interview methodology are explored to varying degrees by the work of these presenters. Is it possible to convey specific emotions across cultures, language, and identity?

Chair: Karen Jungblut

Peg LeVine, Ph.D., Ed.D.

Mark Zaurov, Ph.D.

Once events are recorded in media it becomes a challenge to control or anticipate how that media will be used. Some voices become dominant while others fade out of memory. How is a contextualized narrative produced or reconciled? How do academics make sense of media that was created with differing methodologies or research practices? The research of this panel focuses on cases that elucidate these challenges. 

Chair: Geoffrey Robinson, Ph.D.

Stef Scagliola, Ph.D.

Amy Rothschild, J.D.

Viola Lasmana

As time continues to separate listeners from the recounting of events what is the role of new technology in ensuring the voices of first hand witnesses are heard? The focus of this panel is on how new media technology prompts a rethinking of approaches to remembrance. How can new media re-contextualize or enhance the experience of the listener? What new tools are available to academics? What new or unheard voices will become available?

Chair: Johanna Blakley, Ph.D. 

Rachel Baum, Ph.D. 

Aya Yadlin-Segal

Paris Papamichos Chronakis, Ph.D.

V pátek 30. ledna proběhlo na Malé Straně páté výroční setkání Centra vizuální historie Malach. Přednášející nejen zhodnotili dosavadní činnost centra, ale představili také aktivity, kterým se centrum bude věnovat v dalších pěti letech.

Specific places in genocide histories occupy different psychological spaces for survivors, witnesses, and visitors. When a place is preserved, or restored for the purpose of memorialization it is inherently transformed. This panel explores various aspects of this transformation: preparation, planning, execution, and consequences. The themes of memory, identity, and narrative are investigated in the creation of exhibitions and museum spaces that are also touristic landmarks.

Chair: Marianne Hirsch, Ph.D.

Edyta Gawron, Ph.D.

András Lénart, Ph.D.