Author Description
Which People's War? examines how national belonging, or British national identity, was envisaged in the public culture of the World War II home front. Using materials from newspapers, magazines, films, novels, diaries, letters, and all sorts of public documents, it explores such questions as: who was included as 'British' and what did it mean to be British? How did the British describe themselves as a singular people, and what were the consequences of those depictions? It also examines the several meanings of citizenship elaborated in various discussions concerning the British nation at war. This investigation of the powerful constructions of national identity and understandings of citizenship circulating in Britain during the Second World War exposes their multiple and contradictory consequences at the time. It reveals the fragility of any singular conception of 'Britishness' even during a war that involved the total mobilization of the country's citizenry and cost 400,000 British civilian lives.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This work investigates how the concept of British national identity and citizenship was constructed, contested, and utilized within public discourse during the Second World War. Sonya O. Rose, a professor of history and sociology, analyzes a wide array of primary source materials to demonstrate that 'Britishness' was not a monolithic identity but a fractured and often contradictory set of ideals. She argues that the mobilization of the home front necessitated a redefinition of national belonging that simultaneously fostered unity and excluded specific groups based on class, gender, and race.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of public culture including newspapers, magazines, and films from 1939-1945
- Examination of personal accounts such as diaries and letters
- Exploration of the intersection between total war mobilization and social citizenship
- Discussion of the exclusionary mechanisms inherent in wartime national rhetoric
Scope Limits
- The study focuses primarily on the home front rather than military strategy or battlefield operations
- It does not provide a comprehensive military history of the British armed forces
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Historians and sociologists frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the social construction of identity during periods of national crisis. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous examination of how wartime rhetoric shaped post-war social policy.
Page Count:
344
Publication Date:
2004-01-01
ISBN-10:
0191037532
ISBN-13:
9780191037535
History
Citizenship
National Characteristics British
Sociology
World War
British History
European History
Great Britain