
Attack on All Fronts
The Culture of Twentieth-Century War
Nanette Norris(Author)
Fisher Imprints (Publisher)
Published on 1. May 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
160 pages
978-1-84888-227-0 (ISBN)
Description
The twentieth-century was arguably the most belligerent in history, marked as it was by a culture of war - that is, values, attitudes, and so on, which support the waging of war. At the same time, this culture shifted profoundly so that now, in the twenty-first century, we can plausibly think about a culture of peace. This book looks at turning-points in the twentieth-century cultural attitudes towards war, from the sacrificed soldier of World War One to the anti-war demonstrations of the Sixties, and beyond to the ubiquitous War on Terrorism. We have undergone a crucial transformation of how we view 'reality' - how we determine what is 'real' and what is not; our metaphysical concepts affect how we wage war on the international front and how we interrelate on the home front. Our sense of reality affects our culture of war. At the same time, we have been suffering from the trauma and shock of horrific experiences. Two world wars pushed the limits of our ability to rationalize and accept man's inhumanity to man, triggering a response which was essentially an embracing of the absurd.
Our inability to deal with the horrors of the war, coupled with our inability to express our loss, resulted in a culture of post-traumatic reaction from which we may, possibly, have begun to emerge.
Our inability to deal with the horrors of the war, coupled with our inability to express our loss, resulted in a culture of post-traumatic reaction from which we may, possibly, have begun to emerge.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Inter/Connexions
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
20
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
220 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84888-227-0 (9781848882270)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Nanette Norris is Assistant Professor of English at Royal Military College Saint-Jean. Her research focus is the modernist period and war literature. She is the editor of Words for a Small Planet (Lexington Books, 2013).
Content
Preface 1 Steps towards a Culture of War 2 The 'Crucified Soldier' 3 World War I: Metaphysics and Experience 4 World War II: Anti-Semitism on the Home Front 5 The Corpse and the Comedian: Transforming Humour 6 Democracy and Discontent: The Vietnam Years, 1956-1973 7 The Enemy's Friend: Ishmael and Isaac in the Middle East 8 The Persian Gulf: Who Is Iranian? 9 Gaiman's Coraline: Teaching Children the Meaning of Evil, Post-9/11 Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index