Memory, Heritage, and Preservation in 20th-Century England

2023
ISBN: 978-3-031-04471-7
Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buch, Englisch, 299 Seiten, Format (B × H): 148 mm x 210 mm, Gewicht: 411 g

Reihe: Britain and the World

This book explores commemoration practices and preservation efforts in modern Britain, focusing on the years from the end of the First World War until the mid-1960s. The changes wrought by war led Britain to reconsider major historical episodes that made up its national narrative. Part of this process was a reassessment of heritage sites, because such places carry socio-political meaning as do the memorials that mark them. This book engages the four-way intersection of commemoration, preservation, tourism, and urban planning at some of the most notable historic locations in England. The various actors in this process—from the national government and regional councils to private organizations and interested individuals—did nothing less than engineer British national memory. The author presents case studies of six famous British places, namely battlefields (Hastings and Bosworth), political sites (Runnymede and Peterloo), and world’s fairgrounds (the Crystal Palace and Great White City). In all three genres of heritage sites, one location developed through commemorations and tourism, while the other ‘anti-sites’ simultaneously faltered as they were neither memorialized nor visited by the masses. Ultimately, the book concludes that the modern social and political environment resulted in the revival, creation, or erasure of heritage sites in the service of promoting British national identity. A valuable read for British historians as well as scholars of memory, public history, and cultural studies, the book argues that heritage emerged as a discursive arena in which British identity was renegotiated through times of transitions, both into a democratic age and an era of geopolitical decline.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Strittmatter, David

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Museumskunde, Materielle Kultur, Erinnerungskultur
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein Geschichtspolitik, Erinnerungskultur
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder England, UK, Irland: Regional & Stadtgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte: Ereignisse und Themen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Part I Battlefields.- Chapter I: The Hastings Battlefield.- Chapter II: The Bosworth Battlefield.- Part II Plolitical Sites.- Chapter III: Runnymede…- Chapter IV: The Peterloo Massacre Site.- Chapter V: The Crystal Palace.- Chapter VI: The Great White City.

Über Autor(innen)

David Strittmatter is an Assistant Professor of History at Ohio Northern University (ONU), in the USA. His research in memory studies has particular emphases on tourism and commemoration. In addition, he oversees public history and museum studies initiatives at ONU. He earned his doctorate at the University of Buffalo (SUNY) and prior degrees at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.