War and Memory in the Twentieth Century

Description

This unique and absorbing book looks at the ways in which images and memories of war have emerged and endured in the twentieth century. Through a number of studies by the leading experts in the field, ranging from the construction of memorials through to film and personal testimonies, the complex identities of war memories and their social, cultural and political significances are thoroughly discussed. War and Memory in the Twentieth Century explores differing ways in which memories of conflicts are constructed from a multitude of perspectives and representations, including: * the written and spoken word * cinematic and film images * photography * monuments and memorials * museums * rituals and public celebration The book also discusses how memories of war differ between nations and individuals, and between proximity and distance in time. Wide-ranging and original, individual essays cover topics such as Anne Frank, British war crimes, the Gulf War in British popular culture, German memory and identity, and popular film. This truly interdisciplinary and wide-ranging book will be of interest to the general reader as well as students and academics of history, war and society, political science, cultural studies and media studies. Contributors include: Tony Kushner, Southampton University; David Cesarani, Southampton University; Bernice Archer, Essex University; Jane Leonard, Queens University, Belfast; Lucy Noakes, Sussex University; Margaretta Joly, Sussex University; Catherine Moriarty, Sussex University; Bill Kidd, Stirling University; Sue Harper, Portsmouth University; Martin Shaw, Sussex University; Jeffrey Walsh, Manchester Metropolitan University; Barry Doyle, Durham University; Gerd Knischewski, Portsmouth University.

Martin Evans University of Portsmouth Kenneth Lunn University of Portsmouth

"Books like 'War and Memory', which take history seriously but do not leave it to the historians, are an important step forward." Christopher Hill, Modern and Contemporary France 'An absorbing look at the way in which images and memories of war have emerged and endured during this century ...Instructive, informative and undoubtedly sad. A thought-provoking work.' Ships Telegraph "A welcome addition to the growing number of books which consider the wider social, cultural and political implications of warfare in the twentieth century." Stephen Croad, Independent Member of the National War Memorials Inventory Committee "The collection is to be commended for the high quality of its contribution which provide persuasive evidence of how the memory of past conflict infiltrates and colours present culture. [It] deserves to become an edited collection to which scholars and students turn for well balanced and stimulating essays on the continuing dialogue between history and memory in contemporary Western culture." Journal of Area Studies