Title Memory, heritage, and preservation in 20th-century England / David Strittmatter

Published Cham, Switzerland : Palgrave Macmillan, an imprint of Springer, [2023]

Click on the following:
Springer eBooks

Copies

Description 1 online resource (XIV, 299 pages) : illustrations Series Britain and the world, 2947-7190 Britain and the world. 2947-7190 Contents 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 Summary 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. 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 Notes Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on April 13, 2023) Print version record Subject Collective memory -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century Historic sites -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century National characteristics, British -- History -- 20th century Collective memory Historic sites National characteristics, British Great Britain Genre/Form History Form Electronic book ISBN 9783031044694 303104469X 9783031044687 3031044681

  Permalink