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After The Exodus: Halil Ozsavli'S Research Asks How Armenians Adapte

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  • After The Exodus: Halil Ozsavli'S Research Asks How Armenians Adapte

    AFTER THE EXODUS: HALIL OZSAVLI'S RESEARCH ASKS HOW ARMENIANS ADAPTED TO THEIR ENVIRONMENT IN THE EARLY 1900S

    US Official News
    April 26, 2014 Saturday

    Dearborn

    The University of Michigan-Dearborn has issued the following news
    release:

    Imagine being forced to flee your hometown, leaving behind friends,
    family and other treasured keepsakes.

    Then imagine thousands of your neighbors being forced to do the same.

    That's what happened in the early 1900s when droves of Armenians
    were forced to vacate the Anatolian provinces of the Ottoman Empire
    (now in the east of modern Turkey). Many were killed or died on
    the deportation routes, and a significant number of the survivors
    relocated to parts of Syria and Lebanon.

    What happened to these Armenians after this mass exodus and how they
    adapted to their new environment are questions Halil Ozsavli is trying
    to answer.

    A doctoral student at Hacettepe University and a scholar at
    Kilis 7 Aralęk University in Turkey, Ozsavli joined University
    of Michigan-Dearborn's Armenian Research Center (ARC) as a
    scholar-in-residence to study how Armenians created a new communal
    life in Lebanon, keeping their language, culture and traditions.

    "They essentially had to find new lives," said Ozsavli, an Arab who
    was raised in Turkey.

    Ozsavli plans to include his findings in a dissertation, which will
    focus on Armenians living in Syria and Lebanon from 1914-1939.

    The center provides an ideal research hub for Ozsavli, as it includes
    countless microfilms, periodicals and books that detail not only
    Armenian history, but also the history of the Arabic countries of
    the Middle East and Turkey.

    "This is a great opportunity for me," said Ozsavli, who plans to
    return to Turkey in July to defend his dissertation. "I would have
    never found these Armenian periodicals, microfilms and books in
    Turkey. You can find all types of resources here."

    Ozsavli commended ARC Director Ara Sanjian and Gerald Ottenbreit Jr.

    for their assstance throughout the research project.

    "Professor Ara's suggestions guided my research when I got lost among
    an endless sea of historical information," he said. "Without Gerald's
    assistance, I could not find particular books among the thousands of
    books in the center. He never hesitated to buy microfilms or a book,
    which I needed if the center did not have it already. And thanks
    to him, my wife and I could settle in Dearborn without having any
    problems when we arrived in this country."

    UM-Dearborn is the first American university with an Armenian Research
    Center. In an effort to preserve Armenian history and culture, staff
    there collect Armenian periodicals, establish exchange programs with
    Armenian libraries and schools, as well as forge domestic partnerships
    with prominent institutions.

    "The Armenian Research Center is unique in that scholars have, in
    one location in a university setting, a rich reference library about
    the Armenians and their neighbors, with research assistance at hand,
    and a knowledgeable director who will mentor young scholars," said
    Ottenbreit, the center's longtime research assistant. "If a scholar
    needs something we do not own, we will obtain it, within reason,
    either through purchase or interlibrary loan. During Halil's stay,
    we purchased several dozen microfilms from the National Archives and
    an additional half-dozen from Gale."




    From: A. Papazian
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