Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 304-317 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Journal of European Studies |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue number | 3-4 |
| Early online date | 15 Nov 2021 |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 2021 |
Abstract
This article focuses on the British West Indies beginning with the involvement of African Caribbean soldiers in the Great War. It challenges the enduring myth of the First World War as a predominantly white European conflict. The main part focuses on C. L. R. James, the Trinidadian historian and playwright, following his paradigmatic trajectory from the colony to the ‘mother country’ and his involvement in the protracted transnational process of decolonization after the First Word War. It concentrates on one of his political pamphlets and on his play Toussaint Louverture. The work of the British writer and left-wing political activist Nancy Cunard is also presented as another ‘outsider’ text which can further an ongoing methodological project: the re-integration and cross-fertilization of received knowledge about the war with seemingly outlying knowledge, unorthodox political commitment and challenging aesthetics to produce a richer understanding of this formative period across the Atlantic divide.
Keywords
- African Caribbean soldiers, British West Indies, C. L. R. James, Haitian Revolution, Nancy Cunard, self-government
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Arts and Humanities(all)
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Journal of European Studies, Vol. 51, No. 3-4, 11.2021, p. 304-317.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - World War I and its Aftermath
T2 - Reaching for the Past and across the Atlantic
AU - Gohrisch, Jana
PY - 2021/11
Y1 - 2021/11
N2 - This article focuses on the British West Indies beginning with the involvement of African Caribbean soldiers in the Great War. It challenges the enduring myth of the First World War as a predominantly white European conflict. The main part focuses on C. L. R. James, the Trinidadian historian and playwright, following his paradigmatic trajectory from the colony to the ‘mother country’ and his involvement in the protracted transnational process of decolonization after the First Word War. It concentrates on one of his political pamphlets and on his play Toussaint Louverture. The work of the British writer and left-wing political activist Nancy Cunard is also presented as another ‘outsider’ text which can further an ongoing methodological project: the re-integration and cross-fertilization of received knowledge about the war with seemingly outlying knowledge, unorthodox political commitment and challenging aesthetics to produce a richer understanding of this formative period across the Atlantic divide.
AB - This article focuses on the British West Indies beginning with the involvement of African Caribbean soldiers in the Great War. It challenges the enduring myth of the First World War as a predominantly white European conflict. The main part focuses on C. L. R. James, the Trinidadian historian and playwright, following his paradigmatic trajectory from the colony to the ‘mother country’ and his involvement in the protracted transnational process of decolonization after the First Word War. It concentrates on one of his political pamphlets and on his play Toussaint Louverture. The work of the British writer and left-wing political activist Nancy Cunard is also presented as another ‘outsider’ text which can further an ongoing methodological project: the re-integration and cross-fertilization of received knowledge about the war with seemingly outlying knowledge, unorthodox political commitment and challenging aesthetics to produce a richer understanding of this formative period across the Atlantic divide.
KW - African Caribbean soldiers
KW - British West Indies
KW - C. L. R. James
KW - Haitian Revolution
KW - Nancy Cunard
KW - self-government
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U2 - 10.1177/00472441211033410
DO - 10.1177/00472441211033410
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85119149214
VL - 51
SP - 304
EP - 317
JO - Journal of European Studies
JF - Journal of European Studies
SN - 0047-2441
IS - 3-4
ER -