Dr. Meymune Topçu addressed witnessing genocide from a psychological perspective in the context of individual and collective memory, narratives and thinking about the future.
In S.O.S.der's online (Zoom) seminar series, Dr. Meymune Topçu was the guest on the evening of Thursday, 9 April 2026. In the seminar titled Witnessing Genocide: Memory, Narratives and Thinking the Future, how the experience of collective violence and genocide is inscribed in individual and social memory, how these experiences are transmitted through narratives, and how they shape our ways of thinking about the future were addressed from the perspective of the discipline of psychology.
About the Speaker
Dr. Meymune Topçu has been a faculty member of the Department of Psychology at Istanbul MEF University since September 2023. Her work focuses on autobiographical memory, collective memory, and the ways in which individuals and societies think about the future. Her research has been published in leading journals in her field such as Memory, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General and Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition; she has conducted research projects supported by the James S. McDonnell Foundation.
Topics Addressed in the Seminar
The programme discussed the formation of collective memory, the intergenerational transmission of traumatic experiences, and the relationship between memory and the imagination of the future. It was emphasised that witnessing genocide is not merely a record of the past, but a process that also shapes the future of societies.
Our association, which aims to make human dignity and the voice of victims visible, thanks Dr. Meymune Topçu for this valuable contribution.