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Patriotism and Propaganda in First World War Britain David Monger (History, School of Humanties, University of Canterbury (New Zealand))

Patriotism and Propaganda in First World War Britain By David Monger (History, School of Humanties, University of Canterbury (New Zealand))

Patriotism and Propaganda in First World War Britain by David Monger (History, School of Humanties, University of Canterbury (New Zealand))


£28.00
Condition - Very Good
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Summary

This book is the first comprehensive investigation of the National War Aims Committee, providing detailed discussion of the establishment, activities and reception of the British domestic propaganda organisation, together with a careful and extensive analysis of the patriotic content of its propaganda.

Patriotism and Propaganda in First World War Britain Summary

Patriotism and Propaganda in First World War Britain: The National War Aims Committee and Civilian Morale by David Monger (History, School of Humanties, University of Canterbury (New Zealand))

The story of propaganda and patriotism in First World War Britain too often focuses on the cliches of Kitchener, 'over by Christmas' and the deaths of patriotic young volunteers at the Somme and elsewhere. A common assumption is that familiar forms of patriotism did not survive the war. However, the activities of the National War Aims Committee in 1917-18 suggest that propaganda and patriotism remained vigorous in Britain in the last years of the war. The NWAC, a semi-official Parliamentary organisation responsible for propaganda to counteract civilian war-weariness, produced masses of propaganda material aimed at re-stimulating civilian patriotism and yet remains largely unknown and rarely discussed. This book provides the first detailed study of the NWAC's activities, propaganda and reception. It demonstrates the significant role played by the NWAC in British society after July 1917, illuminating the local network of agents and committees which conducted its operations and the party political motivations behind these. At the core of the book is a comprehensive analysis of the Committee's propaganda. NWAC propaganda contained an underlying patriotic narrative which re-presented many familiar pre-war patriotic themes in ways that sought to encompass the experiences of civilians worn down by years of total war. By interpreting propaganda through the purposes it served, rather than the quantity of discussion of particular aspects, the book rejects common and reductive interpretations which depict propaganda as being mainly about the vilification of enemies. Through this analysis, the book makes a wider plea for deeper attention to the purposes behind patriotic language.

Patriotism and Propaganda in First World War Britain Reviews

Reviews'Impressively detailed, this book is a major, original and illuminating contribution to the scholarship of propaganda.'
Adrian Gregory
'Monger has been able to shed important light on a crucial propaganda organisation, existing during the last months of the war when the maintenance of morale had become so important, and successfully presents this in a fashion that would interest anyone concerned with the employment of propaganda in the early part of the 20th century.'
William Butler, Reviews in History

'...the NWAC mattered, and was seen to matter. The same can, and should, be said of this monograph. Monger has written an interesting and original book on an important subject; this work deserves to become required reading not only for students of wartime propaganda, but for anyone interested in the nature of the wartime British state, or in the very idea of patriotism in modern Britain.'
Matthew Johnson, English Historical Review
'Monger has written an interesting and original book on an important subject; this work deserves to become required reading not only for students of wartime propaganda, but for anyone interested in the nature of the wartime British state, or in the very idea of 'patriotism' in modern Britain.'
Matthew Johnson, English Historical Review

About David Monger (History, School of Humanties, University of Canterbury (New Zealand))

Dr David Monger is Lecturer in Modern European History at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

Table of Contents

  • List of figures and tables
  • List of abbreviations
  • Acknowledgements
  • Introduction
  • Part 1: The National War Aims Committee
  • 1: The development of wartime propaganda and the emergence of the NWAC
  • 2: The NWAC at work
  • 3: Local agency, local work: the role of constituency War Aims Committees
  • Part 2: Patriotism for a purpose: NWAC propaganda
  • 4: Presentational patriotisms
  • 5: Adversaries at home and abroad: the context of negative difference
  • 6: Civilisational principles: Britain and its allies as the guardians of civilisation
  • 7: Patriotisms of duty: sacrifice, obligation and community - the narrative core of NWAC propaganda
  • 8: Promises for the future: the encouragement of aspirations for a better life, nation and world
  • Part 3: The impact of the NWAC
  • 9: 'A premium on corruption'? Parliamentary, pressure group and national press responses
  • 10: Individual and local reactions to the NWAC
  • Conclusion
  • Appendices
  • Bibliography
  • Index

Additional information

GOR009151597
9781781380130
1781380139
Patriotism and Propaganda in First World War Britain: The National War Aims Committee and Civilian Morale by David Monger (History, School of Humanties, University of Canterbury (New Zealand))
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Liverpool University Press
20140403
310
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - Patriotism and Propaganda in First World War Britain