Publisher's Synopsis
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 examination 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. Olivier Courteaux shows the remarkable efforts of Charles de Gaulle to emphasize the significance of the French Resistance in the liberation of France in 1944; such narratives helped de Gaulle to reclaim the status of superpower for France. Bronson Long investigates the ways in which the French government accentuated the story of Nazi atrocities and emphasized the commemoration of the First World War and French victory in the Saarland, a French province which became a part of Nazi Germany in 1935, before being returned to France in 1947. By examining the construction of memory of the Contra War in Nicaragua in the US during the Reagan administration, Roger Peace underscores that mythologies of war and of an empire mutually nourish each other. Lawton A. Brewer's essay shows how the justification of the British Empire brought about the justification of violence and wars, and explores how such narratives were internalized by British citizens. Lee B. March compares decision-making processes by Presidents Harry Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Angela Esco Elder demonstrates Southern women's ability to redefine gender roles in the aftermath of the American Civil War. Lindsay Kaplan investigates the significance of gender in constructing the narrative of the Algerian War (1954-1962). Natalia Starostina examines a practice of battlefield tourism in northern France, a practice sponsored and promoted by French railway companies in the aftermath of the Great War: no matter how seemingly authentic impressions from such tours were, visitors would have never encountered dead bodies, the single most gruesome objects by which the battlefields of World War One were covered. Jonathan Harton tells the story of archeological surveys in northern Georgia to develop a more accurate understanding of the Civil War's history.
