D. Owen and C. Pividori coordinate a book on WWI literature

Writings of Persuasion and Dissonance in the Great War: That Better Whiles May Follow Worse

Literary responses to World War I shows two very different types of language: the exaltation of war as a "noble sacrifice" and the portrayal of a brutal conflict. David Owen and Cristina Pividori, both lecturers at the UAB, have coordinated a book made up of a collection of essays on the subject.

19/04/2016

David Owen and Cristina Pividori, lecturers in Literature of the Department of English and German Studies, have edited the book Writings of Persuasion and Dissonance in the Great War: That Better Whiles May Follow Worse (Brill/Rodopi).

This collection of essays on literature in English related to the Great War or shortly after, includes pre-WWI texts which were at that moment used for propagandistic means. The book includes contributions by Sara Martín, Andrew Monnickendam and Esther Pujolras, also lecturers of the department, in addition to specialists from other European and American universities.

The collection serves to display two completely opposed languages: the nineteenth-century ideals of war as a noble sacrifice and the portrayal of the hopeless, brutal reality of the trenches. The texts demonstrate that there is no definitive language of the Great War, nor can it ever hope to represent this conflict in its entirety. The collection also uncovers how memory constantly develops, triggering distinct and even contradictory responses from those involved in the complex process of remembering.

More information: Writings of Persuasion and Dissonance in the Great War: That Better Whiles May Follow Worse (Brill/Rodopi)