Dr. Ohannes Kılıçdağı, the 2020-21 Henry Khanzadian Kazan visiting professor, will give his first public talk at Fresno State, titled “Living Together Requires Dying Together: Conscription of Armenians into the Ottoman Army after the 1908 Revolution” at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, on Zoom. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

The July 1908 revolution, which overturned Hamidian despotism, restored the constitution and parliament. According to the guest speaker, It was greeted with joy and hope as people, especially Armenians, regarded it as the end of oppression and the beginning of a new era. Per the guest speaker, one of the essential indicators of equal citizenship was the conscription of Christians and Jews. They had been exempted from military service in exchange for paying a special tax until that date.

This talk focuses on these debates and how different Armenian circles reacted to this idea. For more information contact the Armenian Studies Program at 559.278.2669.