ABSTRACT

This book seeks to engage and extend our understanding of the senses in wartime, as it brings together both academics and museum curators to explore the central place of affect in war of 1914—1918. Through the lens of emotion, and with a sensitivity to the specific historical context within which emotions emerge, intersect and manifest, new narratives of World War I emerge. The book examines the way the war is remembered, re-told and re-imagined today. It explores the role of historians and curators as agents in this process, in a way that has been little seen elsewhere. The book lays bare the process of historical enquiry and interpretation for public audiences, embracing primary sources including material culture, archives and personal memory to frame new questions in understanding the war in all is emotional layers and complexity, and our place in the continuum of understanding conflict and violence.