Telling tales about men
Conceptions of conscientious objectors to military service during the First World WarLois S. Bibbings
"A refreshing and radically new approach to assessing attitudes to Britain's First World War conscientious objectors. Essential reading for all those concerned with what the First World War really meant to British society."
Cyril Pearce, Visiting Research Fellow, University of Leeds
"In telling the intriguing stories of these men, Bibbings brilliantly exposes the contradictions of manliness in wartime."
Professor Joanna Bourke, Birkbeck College
"Bibbings's book makes a theoretically informed, incisive and original intervention into the burgeoning work on the relationships between men, culture, patriotism, war and individual conscience."
Keith Jenkins, Emeritus Professor of Historical Theory, University of Chichester
"An orginal, culturally nuanced and engaging book which marries the personal with the political. The narratives challenge established underestanding and make a valuable contributiion to existing literature about those who say no to war."
Julian Putkowski, military historian, researcher, broadcaster
Telling tales about men explores some of the ways in which conscientious objectors to compulsory military service were viewed and treated in England during the First World War. In a series of themed chapters very different conceptions of these men are considered; here objectors appear as cowards, heroes, traitors, patriots, despicable criminals, law-abiding citizens, degenerates and upstanding, intensely moral folk.
Bibbings draws upon a range of materials and disciplines to produce this socio-cultural study. Sources include diaries, government papers, legal records, newspapers, magazines and novels, whilst the book is informed by writings from literary and gender studies, criminology, sociology and law along with history. The book offers an innovative approach to historical writing. Rather than presenting a single chronological story about their wartime experiences, it tells a number of tales about how objectors were seen and dealt with.
The book is essential reading for scholars and students of the First World War, conscientious objection, pacifism and war resistance and its accessible style makes it a must for those with a general interest in these subjects. It will also be of interest to those working in the field of gender history.
Contents:-
Acknowledgments
List of illustrations
Introduction
Prologue
1. ‘Despised and Rejected’
2. Of cowards, shirkers and ‘unmen’
3. Deviance: degeneracy, decadence and criminality
4. The ‘national danger’
5. Conscientious objectors
6. Patriots and heroes
Conclusion
Epilogue
Select bibliography
Index
Lois S. Bibbings is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Law and an Honorary Research Fellow in the Centre for Ethics and Medicine at the University of Bristol
216x138mm 240pp
hb 9780719069222 30 November 2009 £55.00
15 b&w illustrations
HOW TO ORDER
To order this text, please select format and method:
hb Buy this book at the MUP/Blackwells bookshop Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com