War In France Research Articles

Varoluşçu Özgürlük Bağlamında Kadın: Simone de Beauvoir ve İkinci Cinsiyet

Simone de Beauvoir, the writer of The Second Sex, as an activist, philosopher and feminist who profoundly influenced cultural and literary studies in the twentieth century, is a crucial committed and intellectual writer. The Second Sex, written during the Second World War in France, forced the intellectuals, not only in France but also those from all over the world, to reconsider the question of woman in details. In “The Second Sex”, Beauvoir examines the positioning of woman as the “other” against the man who is the “absolute “. In her oeuvre, she not only scrutinises in detail the cultural, social and historical layers of this positioning of woman as “Other” against man who is the “Absolute”, but also, she explores the lack of self-consciousness of woman and the imposition of this “otherness” by men. In this study, the Woman/Man dialectics will be read from immanence/transcendence, freedom/responsibility dichotomies in the context of the existentialist philosophy. The aim is to demonstrate the degradation of woman in a secondary position in patriarchal societies, the social and cultural conceptualisation of woman’s position. In this context, man defined the existence of woman freed from essential existential mechanisms. Nevertheless, in the existentialist philosophy, existence precedes essence. Beauvoir deciphers the reasons of woman to not reject the hegemony of man by revealing the status of the woman myth. The main objective is to search for the possibilities of woman existence founded on responsibility and freedom, and to retrace the reflections of these possibilities in today’s world.

French historiography of the Crimean war (1853-1856): main trends and tendencies

This article is devoted to the study of the French historiographical tradition of studying the Crimean war. Due to the fact that the French historiography of the Crimean campaign has diff erences from the Russian or Anglo-Saxon, it is interesting to turn to the study of the features that are characteristic for the works of French historians. One of the key theses of this article is the statement of the following situation in French historical science: since the second half of the 19th century the Crimean war was studied in the framework of studies on the history of the Second Empire. In the late twentieth century the scientifi c tradition has undergone certain changes, as a result of which the events of 1853-1856 became the subject of separate studies on the military history of France and historical anthropology. This feature infl uenced the perception of the war in French public opinion and the scientifi c community and led to the diff erentiation of certain problems and subjects directly related to the history of the Crimean war. The study of French historiography allows us to determine the themes that prevailed in the scientifi c thought of France during the second half of the 19th - 20th centuries, as well as those trends that are currently key in discussing the prerequisites, the nature, the results of the military campaign of 1853-1856. The authors conclude that the scientifi c and possibly public interest in the Crimean war in France is much lower than in Russia. The events of 1853-1856, largely overshadowed by the discussions and memory of the First World war, gradually turn into a little-known period of French history. However, the jubilee years associated with the Crimean war and the siege of Sevastopol are an important point that allows us to revisit the study of both the military campaign and diplomacy, and in general the history of Russian-French relations.

James E. Connolly. The experience of occupation in the Nord, 1914-18: Living with the enemy in First World War France

James E. Connolly. The experience of occupation in the Nord, 1914-18: Living with the enemy in First World War France

Bertram M. Gordon. War Tourism: Second World War France from Defeat and Occupation to the Creation of HeritageJulia S. Torrie. German Soldiers and the Occupation of France, 1940–1944.

Bertram M. Gordon. War Tourism: Second World War France from Defeat and Occupation to the Creation of HeritageJulia S. Torrie. German Soldiers and the Occupation of France, 1940–1944.

«МИР ЕЩЁ НЕ СОСТАРИЛСЯ, ПОДОЙДЯ К СВОЕМУ КОНЦУ»: ПЕРСПЕКТИВА БУДУЩЕГО В ПОЭЗИИ ПЬЕРА ДЕ РОНСАРА ДО И ПОСЛЕ 1562 ГОДА

Ronsard's historical consciousness included an optimistic vision of the future. This vision was resistant to the disastrous events of the Religious wars in France. Both before and after the beginning of the wars in 1562, Ronsard rejected the idea of “the world grown oldˮ, on which the popular apocalyptic interpretation of the contemporaneity was based. He insisted that the disasters and moral decline of religious wars are not something unprecedented, testifying to the hopelessness of the world and its imminent destruction. The course of history is cyclical; decline and disasters must be followed by appeasement and prosperity under an eminent ruler. Ronsard’s belief in the positive dynamics of history served a compensatory function, allowing him to endure the “horror of historyˮ

War Tourism: Second World War France from Defeat and Occupation to the Creation of Heritage. By Bertram M. Gordon. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2018. Pp. xii+308. $42.95.

<i>War Tourism: Second World War France from Defeat and Occupation to the Creation of Heritage</i>. By Bertram M. Gordon. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2018. Pp. xii+308. $42.95.

Cultural Insecurities and the Desire for Separation: Political Articulations of the Memory of the Algerian War in France

French colonization and the consequent War of Independence in Algeria have marked contemporary French society deeply in numerous ways. For decades, the history and memories of these events have been described as ‘padlocked’ by the state. Since the 2000s, academics have observed an increase in the political use of memory. While the literature has often employed psychoanalytical concepts to interpret this resurgence of the repressed, I argue that these readings are in fact designed to be present incursions into the past, serving to legitimate contemporary political projects. This is because new political actors and projects have emerged defending certain visions of the past in order to bolster present ambitions. In recent years, France has also experienced a rise of both far-right nationalist movements and Islamism. These radical formations continue to instrumentalize the history and memories of colonization and the war in Algeria to legitimate their discourses. In a fast-changing world, radical groups promote the rehabilitation of a reassuring past in which racial hierarchies and endogamy are associated with prestige and stability. I contend that while radical elements develop discourses bearing on the past, they thrive on the cultural insecurities of today’s youth and thereby contribute to the reification of identities. Thus, while trying to come to terms with the past, memory policies might actually contribute to its resurgence, as they tend to focus on discourses rather than social frustrations.

Aphrodisiacs in the global history of medical thought

AbstractThe study of aphrodisiacs is an overlooked area of global history which this article seeks to remedy by considering how such substances were commercially traded and how medical knowledge of them was exchanged globally between 1600 and 1920. We show that the concept of ‘aphrodisiacs’ as a new nominal category of pharmacological substances came to be valued and defined in early modern Latin, English, Dutch, Swiss, and French medical sources in relation to concepts transformed from their origin in both the ancient Mediterranean world and in medieval Islamicate medicine. We then consider how the general idea of aphrodisiacs became widely discredited in mid-nineteenth-century scientific medicine until after the First World War in France and in the US, alongside their commercial proliferation in the context of new colonial trade exchanges between Europe, the US, Southeast Asia, Africa, India, and South America. In both examples, we propose that global entanglements played a significant role in both the cohesion and the discreditation of the medical category of aphrodisiacs.

Book Review: Richard Carswell: The Fall of France in the Second World War

Book Review: Richard Carswell: <i>The Fall of France in the Second World War</i>

Exploring travellers’ experiences when visiting Verdun battlefield: a TripAdvisor case study

ABSTRACT This study contributes to research on the tourist’s experience of a battlefield site by comparing the way they report on the different sub-sites belonging to it, and by using an integrated approach. We focused on Verdun, a major site of the Great War in France, composed of different sub-sites (memorials, forts, trenches, etc.). By analysing 1,581 online reviews posted by tourists on the TripAdvisor website between 2012 and 2017, our findings reveal that tourists report differently on each sub-site, highlighting the relational and emotional dimensions of their experience. Our results first suggest that the site’s degree of darkness and commodification influence the relational dimension of their experience by generating or not a deep empathy relationship. We then reveal that while the events took place more than a century ago, the emotional dimension of their experience is still deep, thanks to the preservation of the site’s dark attributes.

The Experience of Occupation in the Nord, 1914–18: Living with the Enemy in First World War France. By James E. Connolly. Cultural History of Modern War. Edited by Ana Carden-Coyne et al.Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2018. Pp. xii+334. $120.00.

The Experience of Occupation in the Nord, 1914–18: Living with the Enemy in First World War France. By James E. Connolly. Cultural History of Modern War. Edited by Ana Carden-Coyne et al.Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2018. Pp. xii+334. $120.00.

Confronting America: The Cold War between the United States and the Communists in France and Italy. by Alessandro Brogi, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011. 533 pp. $55.00.

<i>Confronting America: The Cold War between the United States and the Communists in France and Italy</i>. by Alessandro Brogi, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011. 533 pp. $55.00.

Not Merely a Newsworthy Commodity: Jean-Paul Sartre's Engagement in the Struggle Against Apartheid

ABSTRACT Jean-Paul Sartre's renown and intellectual celebrity grew as a function of his engagement in Third World struggles. Sartre's public image as a champion of the oppressed is so entrenched that it might seem self-evident that he played a leading role in the anti-apartheid struggle. However, his actual contribution to the South African struggle appears to be at odds with the way it is inscribed in collective memory. This article examines the incongruity between Sartre's actual involvement in the struggle against apartheid and his enduring image as a champion of the anti-racist struggle in South Africa. Archival research into Sartre's publications, public appearances and travels in France and abroad notes only three occasions on which Sartre made a direct reference to apartheid—the first in June 1963, the second in October 1964 and the third in November 1966. Tracing Sartre's involvement chronologically, the article seeks to map more precisely the nature of Sartre's contribution, commitment and responsibility to the French anti-apartheid movement, to uncover different facets of Sartre as a celebrity and a public intellectual, and to offer a better understanding of the period following the Algerian War in France with regard to Third World struggles.

War Tourism: Second World War France from Defeat and Occupation to the Creation of Heritage by Bertram M. Gordon

War Tourism: Second World War France from Defeat and Occupation to the Creation of Heritage by Bertram M. Gordon

Realism, Naturalism, and Symbolism: Modes of Thought and Expression in Europe, 1848-1914 by Roland N. Stromberg

Reviewed by: Realism, Naturalism, and Symbolism: Modes of Thought and Expression in Europe, 1848-1914 by Roland N. Stromberg Jude P. Dougherty STROMBERG, Roland N. Realism, Naturalism, and Symbolism: Modes of Thought and Expression in Europe, 1848-1914. New York: Walker and Company, 2019 First published in 1968, the volume, given its time-transcending value, is worth its reprinting. It consists of dozens of essays by prominent and not so prominent authors, each introduced by Stromberg, who then provides a text that represent the work of the author. Under "Realism" we are introduced not only to the work of Arthur Schopenhauer, Ernest Renan, and Karl Marx, but also to Charles Baudelaire, Robert Browning, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. After a few words about Marx for context, Stromberg reproduces fifteen pages from Marx's The Civil War in France (1871), a text that is not often referenced. Ernest Renan is introduced as a French philologist, historian, and essayist, an all-round man in the best tradition of nineteenth-century literature. That is followed by an interesting selection from The Future of Science (1848– 49). Dostoevsky is presented as an artist, psychologist, metaphysician, and prophet, and praised for his "acute perception of human conduct." A fifteen-page passage, taken from The Devil follows. In the "Realism" section of the volume, we find an amazingly relevant passage on social realism as distinguished from socialist realism, introduced by a quotation from Edmond Goncourt for his 1871 warning, "Government is passing from the hands of the haves to the hands of the have-nots." There follows twenty pages from the rarely consulted Goncourt Journals. "Naturalism" opens with a text by David Masson and followed by others from Winwood Reade, Emile Zola, Friedrich Nietzsche, and George Bernard Shaw. Mixed within these, there is a brief section on the French school of painting, that is, "The Impressionists." Another text entitled "The Natural History of the Soul," discusses the work of Sigmund Freud, who, according to Stromberg, explained the deeper working of the human [End Page 383] psyche in the language of physical forces and laws. Freud's work began in 1880 at the peak of naturalism's success and popularity, and "shared with naturalists a basically pessimistic outlook." "Symbolism" is represented by Arthur Rimbaud, Stephane Mallarme, Oscar Wilde, Paul Verlaine, and an additional text from Baudelaire (his reflection on Richard Wagner's Tannhauser and on Wagner's influence). A critique of symbolism is provided by a passage from Leo Tolstoy. The book ends with a brief excerpt from Rupert Brooke and another from Charles Péguy "On the Death of God." The quotation is from Péguy's Clio: "What we mean is that the modern world has given up, has renounced the whole system, the whole mystique, which means from now on there is a new and different world. The modern world is not just a bad Christian world, which would be nothing, but an unchristian world, literally, absolutely, totally de-Christianized." Peguy wrote that in 1931. I cannot say this book is uplifting, but it is certainly fascinating. It may lead the reader to revisit some of the authors and books cited. It has had that effect on me. Jude P. Dougherty The Catholic University of America Copyright © 2019 The Review of Metaphysics

The Centre d'Accueil Nord-Africain: social welfare and the ‘problem' of Muslim youth in Marseille, 1950–1975

Abstract In recent years, historians have paid increasing attention to social welfare initiatives undertaken in post-Second World War France to integrate Muslim Algerian migrants into French society and the legacies of these initiatives after decolonization. This article engages with this field of research by focusing on a topic it has largely ignored—the so-called ‘problem' of the integration of Muslim youth. The central point of focus is the Centre d'Accueil Nord-Africain (CANA), a private welfare association founded in Marseille in 1950 that well into the mid-1970s considered the integration of male Muslim North African youth its central objective. In exploring the origins and operations of the CANA over a roughly twenty-five-year period, this article offers new insights into issues of continuity and change related to the target, approach and objectives of integrationist social welfare for Muslim North Africans in France before and after decolonization.

A sensorial No Man’s Land: corporeality and the Western Front during the First World War

ABSTRACT During the First World War in France and Belgium life on the Western Front was predominantly lived below the surface. The proliferation of hitherto unimaginably powerful weaponry rendered surface existence untenable. This retreat into the earth necessitated a complete revision of soldiers’ somatic engagement with their immediate environment. In my work as an archeologist of modern conflict landscapes, I have devised a methodology which combines archeological exploration with participant sensation or “sensory ethnography” to interrogate these complex, ambiguous and often dangerous subterranean places. In this article I show that as the war destroyed it also created new realities in which the senses were forced to work together like never before under the pressures of industrialized warfare. My work suggests how a holistic investigation (grounded in sensorality) of particular modern conflict landscapes can take the form of an ethnographic archeology, or an ethnography of the dead, demonstrating the potential for archeology and anthropology to work together in the increasingly interdisciplinary field of modern conflict studies.

Gülru Çakmak. Review of "Picturing War in France, 1792–1856" by Katie Hornstein.

Gülru Çakmak. Review of "Picturing War in France, 1792–1856" by Katie Hornstein.

Ceticismo e tolerância em Montaigne

O ceticismo de Montaigne no campo prático e moral é caracterizado pela falta de um critério ou regras de conduta para que se possa consentir num padrão geral de comportamento ou numa tradição qualquer. O período no qual ele viveu era propício para reforçar este quadro: as guerras religiosas na França e em toda a Europa e a descoberta dos povos do Novo Mundo foram fatores fundamentais para o crescimento da dúvida filosófica acerca do comportamento individual e em sociedade organizada. Apesar disso, Montaigne denuncia as crueldades cometidas em seu tempo, seja entre os indígenas, seja entre os católicos e protestantes e, frequentemente, argumenta em favor da liberdade de consciência e opinião. Neste artigo mostrarei que a filosofia de Montaigne, não obstante seu ceticismo, é suscetível a uma ideia geral de tolerância entre diferentes povos e indivíduos, ainda que o conceito de tolerância não esteja sistematizado em seus escritos e que a sua defesa pareça incompatível com um determinado tipo de ceticismo.

Pour la renaissance des villages abandonnés : Quaker Humanitarian Aid in a France at War

Abstract Pour la renaissance des villages abandonnes was an ambitious project organised by the Quakers in late 1940—at the height of the Second World War in France—and led by an exiled Catalan, Jos...