Between memory and mythology : the construction of memory of modern wars / edited by Natalia Starostina.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Starostina, Natalia A., editor.

Alumni and Friends Memorial Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

War and society.

Collective memory--Social aspects.

Collective memory.

Social aspects.

Physical Description:

xli, 156 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Newcastle upon Tyne, UK : Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015.

Summary:

Inspired by the theoretical insights of Patrick Hutton, Roland Barthes and Maurice Halbwachs, this volume examines the relationship between myths and memory and the ways in which the narratives (and the mythologies) of wars play a central role in constructing modern identities. The scholarly investigation of war narratives shows how the political elite became eagerly engaged in the process of mythmaking. The collection opens with a preface by Patrick Hutton, the leading historian in the field of memory studies, and an introduction by Natalia Starostina: they analyze the key works in the field and highlight common themes in the volume. The articles in the volume cover a rich variety of topics. Contributors analyze such diverse initiatives as the efforts of Charles de Gaulle to emphasize the significance of the French Resistance in the liberation of France in 1944; the commemoration of the First World War and French victory in the Saarland; the narratives and imagery of railways in remembering the Great War; and the significance of gender in constructing the narrative of the Algerian War (1954-1962). American scholars demonstrate the significance of gender roles in remembering the American Civil War, compare decision-making processes by Presidents Harry Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and examine the discourses on the Contra War in Nicaragua in the US during the Reagan administration. In addition, two essays in the volume reflect on the representations of the British Empire and provide the story of archeological surveys in northern Georgia to develop a more accurate understanding of the Civil War's history. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I National Identities, Mythology and Memory of Wars

Chapter 1 General de Gaulle and the Second World War: Constructing a French Narrative / Olivier Courteaux Courteaux, Olivier 3

Chapter 2 Remembering and Forgetting War: The German Saar under French Occupation, 1945-1947 / Bronson Long Long, Bronson 23

Part II Empires and War

Chapter 3 Collective Memory and Empire: George Gissing and the Unconscious of War / Lawton A. Brewer Brewer, Lawton A. 37

Chapter 4 Going to War in Korea and Vietnam: The Decisions of Harry Truman and Lyndon / Johnson Lee March March, Johnson Lee 53

Chapter 5 Contested Narratives in the United States over the Contra War (Nicaragua, 1980s) / Roger Peace Peace, Roger 63

Part III Gender and Memory Studies

Chapter 6 "To Dance and Flirt and be Admired": Deviant Widows in the Civil War South / Angela Esco Elder Elder, Angela Esco 85

Chapter 7 Talking Through Taboo: The Othering of the Algerian "Problem" in Jean-Louis Bory's All of Woman Born / Lindsay Kaplan Kaplan, Lindsay 107

Part IV Artifacts in Remembering Wars

Chapter 8 Railway Narratives in Interwar France and the Invention of Myths about the Great War / Natalia Starostina Starostina, Natalia 117

Chapter 9 In the Shadow of Mountains: Civil War Archeology and Memory in Northwest Georgia / Jonathan Harton Harton, Jonathan 129.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Alumni and Friends Memorial Book Fund.

ISBN:

9781443861328

1443861324

OCLC:

909304715

Publisher Number:

99963251176