A public lecture by Nora Lessersohn (University College London, Smithsonian American Art Museum & National Museum of American History) | Thursday 19 May | 17.00 CET | via Teams

This talk will examine the life and work of an Ottoman Armenian American man named Christopher Oscanyan (1818-1895). In particular, it will explore his diplomatic efforts — using text, costume, photography, business, and performance — not only to “correct erroneous impressions” of the “Turks,” but also to cultivate what we would today call “intercultural understanding” and, through it, strong American political investment in the Ottoman Empire, and especially its Armenian Christians. He often spoke directly about Western intervention in the empire: When and why did he support these efforts? When and why was he critical or suspicious of them? And how did his politics and diplomatic tactics change over the course of the century?

 Nora Lessersohn

Nora Lessersohn is a PhD Candidate in History at University College London, and a Predoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) and the National Museum of American History (NMAH). She received her AM in Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University and her AB in The Study of Religion at Harvard College. Her work looks at issues of nationalism, imperialism, and transcultural interaction as they relate to Armenians, Turkey, and the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries.