World War I and its Aftermath

Reaching for the Past and across the Atlantic

authored by: Jana Gohrisch
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.
Organisation(s): English Department
Type: Article
Journal: Journal of European Studies
Volume: 51
Pages: 304-317
No. of pages: 14
ISSN: 0047-2441
Publication date: 11.2021
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1177/00472441211033410 (Access: Open)

BibTeX

@article{f5119860f9dd4e63b0ad64470d45e588,
title = "World War I and its Aftermath: Reaching for the Past and across the Atlantic",
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 {\textquoteleft}mother country{\textquoteright} 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 {\textquoteleft}outsider{\textquoteright} 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",
author = "Jana Gohrisch",
year = "2021",
month = nov,
doi = "10.1177/00472441211033410",
language = "English",
volume = "51",
pages = "304--317",
journal = "Journal of European Studies",
issn = "0047-2441",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Ltd",
number = "3-4",
}