ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a particular historical event; the First World War, The historical and emotional resonances of that war take us, when we discuss the art it produced, beyond the confines of academic language into the realm of evocation and affect. It seeks to demonstrate, the sense of touch is central to the experience of the First World War: from the visceral shock of the trench mud where the men floundered and drowned to the physical closeness among the soldiers as they huddled together against long winter nights and falling shells. In order to examine how tactual perception informs First World War art and gets 'translated' across disciplines, the chapter considers a range of evidence: archival materials, painting, poetry, memoirs, and trench objects. It suggests that an interdisciplinary approach, rooted in a close, affective reading of texts, is not inimical to historical analysis but might illuminate more fully a particular time and culture.
