Why Memory Matters: The Case of the Bosnian Genocide

Join us for an insightful discussion on the importance of historical memory in confronting genocide denial and securing the right to memorialization for survivors of the Bosnian Genocide.

Prof. David Pettigrew, a leading scholar, and activist on the Bosnian genocide, will deliver a keynote address examining the ongoing struggle against genocide denial in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the efforts to preserve atrocity sites as memorials, and the challenges posed by monuments that glorify convicted war criminals.

Following Dr. Pettigrew’s remarks, a panel discussion will feature perspectives from individuals with lived experience and expertise on the subject. Elvedin Pasic, Elvir Ahmetovic, and Armina Osmanovic will provide their insights before opening the floor to audience questions.

This event is an opportunity to reflect on why memory matters, how it shapes justice and reconciliation, and what can be done to counter denial and historical revisionism.

Dr. Pettigrew is a Connecticut State University Professor and Chairperson of the Philosophy Department at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut. He serves on the Steering Committee of the Yale University Genocide Studies Program.

In 2020, his article, “Mandate Interrupted: The Problematic Legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia,” appeared in Washington University Global Studies Law Review. In May 2024, he presented a lecture at the Swedish Parliament as part of a White Armband Day commemoration.

Pettigrew accompanied the government exhumation team to Višegrad in 2010 to witness and document the exhumations on the Drina River. In 2012, he served as a credentialed international observer for the local elections in Srebrenica. Pettigrew also served as a consultant for the completion of the first comprehensive educational museum about the Srebrenica genocide, which was installed in the Srebrenica Memorial Center on February 9, 2017.

Pettigrew has written open letters to the High Representative and other international officials, as well as op-ed essays to advocate for memorials for the victims of genocide and other war crimes in Republika Srpska at atrocity sites where such memorials have been forbidden.