Routledge Postnational Memory, Peace and War: Making Pasts Beyond Borders (Memory Studies: Global Constellations)

This book examines the phenomenon of modern memory as a reaction to total war, an aspiration to truth-seeking provoked by the independent forces of modern war and collective violence which is transnational, or postnational, in character. Using examples from prose and poetry, film and theatre, painting and photography, and music and the popular arts, the author traces a narrative path through the events of the twentieth century, defining the tradition of modern memory in terms of its essentially anti-militaristic, anti-war character, as expressed in the manner in which it represents recalled violence and atrocity. Through a series of thematic discussions of two world wars, the Shoah, urbicide and nuclear weapons, Postnational Memory explores the formation of transnational memory, drawing on examples from industrialized societies, with a focus on memory of real events and their reproduction in literature and the arts, often including personal recollections that link the self to the represented past. As such, by asking how the concept of modern memory is constructed through the victims of war and genocide, the book constitutes an alternative to national memories and hegemonic, militarist or ethnocentric histories. Surveying the emergence of new, transnational forms of remembering the past, it will appeal to students and scholars of sociology, memory studies and peace studies, as well as those working in disciplines such as modern and international history, cultural studies and military studies. Review "Nigel Young’s rich tapestry of words, images and reflections leads us to understand how the total wars of the 20th century have shaped and changed our modern sense of memory. He shows how the shattering experiences of two world wars ― and of the genocides, annihilations, crimes against humanity and the first use of nuclear weapons which accompanied them ― have been dealt with in different ways. Some memories have been suppressed, some have emerged from long silence, and many have been variously interpreted and re-interpreted over the decades. They have also generated powerful art (vividly illustrated here), journalism and literature. Memory has moved from the private to the public sphere, developing new transnational forms to challenge the orthodoxies of nationalism and hegemonism. This is a book which invites us to revisit both the past and the present with searching questions about the impact of war on modern human consciousness." - John Gittings, author of The Glorious Art of Peace: Paths to Peace in a New Age of War. "Nigel Young’s challenging and interesting book draws on his wisdom and deep experience. It’s very much a work of personal witness, most notably in the book’s numerous vignettes and examples. These explore not only war poetry, literature, museums, memorials, paintings, musical requiems and so forth; but also more popular arts, like wall murals, songs, journalism and popular theatre, novels and films." - Robin Luckham, University of Sussex, UK. "Memory is now a specialised field of its own and the author has spent much of his career deeply engaged in it, especially as it relates to modern war, genocide and mass violence - including nuclear weapons. Drawing on a huge range of examples from prose, poetry, film and theatre, painting, photography, music and the popular arts, he traces a narrative path through the tragic events of the 20th century. In this way, Young sketches out a history of modern remembering and explores the formation of a ‘transnational’ (or ‘postnational’) historical awareness, as an alternative to purely national narratives and imperial, militarist or ethnocentric histories. He takes us to ‘sacred’ sites (Auschwitz, Hiroshima and many more) and intersperses the more theoretical passages with telling personal ‘vignettes’. This remarkable work is intense and deeply felt; not always an easy read, but one that repays the effort." - Colin Archer, MAW (The Movemen