Cambridge Heritage Seminar - 1914 Inherited

2016

Taking the First World War and the commemoration of its centenary as a starting point, this article/questionnaire offers a reflection on the past in the broadest sense, on the uses of history and memory, or memories, and their use by the most diverse groups; from their appropriation by power —or powers— in an attempt to offer an official history that legitimizes it in the public eye and perpetuates it, to their utilization by those who do not support the powers that be and develop narratives of resistance and reparation. The article also reflects on the uses of history and memory as a cultural or consumer product, the consequence of a commemorative obsession in Western societies, and the perhaps inevitable conversion of many of the sites of memory into tourist attractions.

The Round Table, 2014

Archiv Orientalni 88 (3), 2020

Taking advantage of the activities prompted by the anniversaries of World War I, history writing engaged with the new directions that the humanities and social sciences were taking. One such direction was to connect with the often-overlooked stories of the voiceless at the margins in order to challenge the more dominant narratives of louder voices. Ego documents and self-testimonies bear the potential to drill holes if not tear down the narratives which feed hostile collective identities. Never has the time been so ripe to use these munitions: We currently live in a world that valorizes witness accounts. These accounts are different from those that have been selectively used for the creation of self-serving national collective memories. This tendency has increased lately due to growing temporal distance.

This chapter examines the way in which the memory of the First World War in Britain has altered with the creation of new sites of remembrance to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the conflict from 2014.

British Journal for Military History, 2022

This is the text of a keynote presentation to the Second World War Research Group's Annual Conference in 2019. It reflects on the centenary commemorations for 1914-1918 from the perspective of a First World War historian to suggest some lessons for the forthcoming centenary of the Second World War. As such it discusses the relationship between history, memory and national identity, the role of historians in shaping that relationship, and the actions that need to be taken in anticipation of the centenary. Taking inspiration from Ireland's Decade of Centenaries 1912-1923 it explores the potential of a similar approach for Britain's commemoration of the Second World War.

British Journal For Military History, 2014

In this article Gary Sheffield sets out his opinions on the current commemoration plans and media responses to the centenary of the First World War. He argues that the British government and media are letting slip a golden opportunity to challenge popular perceptions of the conflict.

War & Society

this special issue examines the ways in which contemporary political, diplomatic, social and cultural trends have influenced centennial commemoration of the First World War in europe, russia and the Middle east. the four articles identify and examine a diversity of narratives that have emerged over the centenary period, charting similarities and differences between states, organisations and individuals. While divergent narratives certainly exist within and between states, the greatest differences may be located in attitudes to the use of force and the way in which different cultures interpret the loss of life in war. KEYWORDS First World War, commemoration, centenary narratives Centenaries can be moments of reflection for states and their people. They provide an opportunity to reconsider existing narratives about past events and confirm or repurpose their meaning to inform individual and collective identities as well as important political and social relationships. 1 This special edition has taken 2017 as a moment of reflection, to assess the development of the First World War centennial commemoration in its first three years. It attends to the ways in which contemporary political, diplomatic, social and cultural trends have influenced commemoration and the portrayal of the First World War in Europe, Russia and the Middle East. The inspiration for this collection of articles came from a symposium organised by the First World War Research Group, King's College London. Held in January 2017, its aim was to take stock of the range and depth of developing commemorative activity from national and trans-national perspectives. 2 Australian, Canadian, French, Russian,

Commemorating Race and Empire in the First World War Centenary

2020

Even one hundred years after it broke out, World War I still interests and energizes public attention. That is true not just of the global community of historians but also of broad segments of a public that is no longer limited solely to just those countries that once waged the war. In fact, the events in and around World War I are now the focus of a broad and worldwide historical-political reflection that seeks to grasp the global manifestations of this totalizing war. It seems as though more recently, with the end of the Cold War and subsequent developments, the perception has sharpened yet again that the world in the years between 1914 and 1918 may have much more to do with our present day than many observers have been used to believing. Take just the current geopolitical situation of Europe and the resurgence not only of nationalism but, in some cases, also of an undisguised chauvinism and one might come to consider that it is always worth the effort to investigate the causes an...