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Munitions of the Mind Posts

Writing a PhD Thesis (on French Pacifism) during a Global Pandemic

Writing a PhD Thesis (on French Pacifism) during a Global Pandemic

Published February 2, 2023

Written by Lauren Jannette

A long and lonely road. When I began my PhD journey back in 2015, fellow graduate students described the process of writing a PhD thesis as just that: a long and lonely road in the wilderness of archives, libraries, and at home in front of the computer. Lacking a reason to come to campus, the process was devoid of human contact except for your roommates, if you had any, and the occasional meeting with your advisor. As first year PhD students, the slightly ominous warning prompted myself and members of my cohort to plan regularly scheduled meetings to discuss our research and comment on each other’s drafts when we reached the writing phase of our PhD theses. Plans made, we spent the next three years venting about papers and presentations for our remaining coursework. We shared the triumphs and frustrations of teaching introductory history seminars to first-year students who were only taking the class because it was required to graduate. We survived the intensity of comprehensive exams. Then after forging close bonds of friendship and comradery, we parted ways to our archives across the globe with the promise of future commiserating about thesis writing over a pint or two upon our return.

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Nordic Media Histories of Propaganda and Persuasion

Nordic Media Histories of Propaganda and Persuasion

Published January 11, 2023

Reviewed by Edward Corse

Nordic Media Histories of Propaganda and Persuasion, edited by Fredrik Norén, Emil Stjernholm and C. Claire Thomson, is a welcome addition to the historical literature on the topic of propaganda. The book, published by Palgrave Macmillan, is Open Access and well worth downloading here to explore issues around propaganda and persuasion in a Nordic setting. The book stems from a conference held in the summer of 2020 in hybrid format hosted by Lund University. I attended this fascinating conference virtually and I am excited to see the final result of the work the convenors and contributors have compiled over the past couple of years. Written in English, the 18 authors are largely based in the Nordic countries themselves, with two exceptions: Nicholas J. Cull (University of Southern California, USA), who has written one of the afterwords; and one of the editors, C. Claire Thomson (UCL, UK).

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On finding source material in the attic: Front Line, 1940-41

On finding source material in the attic: Front Line, 1940-41

Published December 14, 2022

By Jacinta Mallon

Front Line, 1940-41, a booklet published by the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Home Security in 1942, claims to tell the ‘official story’ of civil defence during the blitzes on London and beyond. It arrived on my desk in 2019, as my family cleared out the attic of my grandparents’ old house – no mean task, as in over 60 years of living there they didn’t seem to throw much away! Tucked away in a forgotten cardboard box, we had found Front Line and a host of other propaganda publications which had been collected by my grandad during the conflict.

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“The rockets, dearie? Can’t say I’ve ever noticed them” – Londoners respond to the V-2

“The rockets, dearie? Can’t say I’ve ever noticed them” – Londoners respond to the V-2

Published November 23, 2022

By Charlie Hall

Asking a historian to choose their favourite primary source is a cruel assignment indeed. Any piece of historical scholarship we embark on necessarily involves engagement with a great volume of primary material, especially those of us who work on the abundantly well-documented modern period. With whichever primary sources we look at, we hope that we will gain an insight into the past – not just how events unfolded, or why, but also how contemporaries reacted to these developments. This enables us to humanise historical actors and witnesses and to draw out their stories in a way that has resonance for modern readers.

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The Story of Propaganda in 50 Images

The Story of Propaganda in 50 Images

Published October 19, 2022

Reviewed by Tim Luckhurst

It was his genius in war, not propaganda, that ensured King Alexander III of Macedon (356-323 BC) would be remembered as Alexander the Great. But Alexander appreciated the power of reputation. He had himself depicted on coins as the son of Zeus and his image was replicated on statues, buildings and pottery. If Boris Johnson’s study of Classics twenty-three centuries later included focus on Alexander’s use of propaganda, Mr Johnson’s approach certainly lacks the ancient Macedonian’s precision.

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‘Back to the Roofs’: The Spatial Propaganda of Munich’s Olympic Stadium

‘Back to the Roofs’: The Spatial Propaganda of Munich’s Olympic Stadium

Published September 29, 2022

Written by Peter Banks

From 11 to 21 August 2022, the multi-sport European Championships took place at Munich’s Olympic Park. Whilst this event occurs every four years, there is a particular historical resonance for this year’s championships for Munich, and Germany, as it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Olympic Games held in Munich. Unfortunately, these Olympic Games will always be tainted by the terrorist attack carried out by the Palestinian group ‘Black September’ on the Israeli athletes in the Olympic village on 5 September 1972. However, the Munich games are also remembered and celebrated for how a new, democratic Germany was presented to the world only twenty-seven years after the end of the Second World War. Effectively utilised as a means of propaganda, the symbolic design of Munich’s Olympic stadium spatially exemplified this message and subsequently became a piece of iconic architecture. This is clearly illustrated by the slogan of this year’s European Championships, ‘Back to the Roofs’.

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From Putin Back to Lenin, and Then Further Back: How Russia Keeps Revisiting the Same Problems, and Why a Different Kind of Realism is Needed

From Putin Back to Lenin, and Then Further Back: How Russia Keeps Revisiting the Same Problems, and Why a Different Kind of Realism is Needed

Published June 1, 2022

Written by Philip Boobbyer

The problems countries face are often passed on unresolved from one generation to another. Over centuries Russia’s rulers have faced a recurring challenge: how to hold together a multi-ethnic state located across a vast expanse without natural borders. In this context, establishing a stable system of government has proved incredibly hard:  Russia’s imperial ambitions have often conflicted with the needs of nation-building.

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Antiquities in Palestine as Post War Propaganda

Antiquities in Palestine as Post War Propaganda

Published April 14, 2022

Written by Chloe Emmott

Palestine was viewed by most in Britain, and the wider western world, as ‘the Holy Land’, the cradle of Christianity. After Allenby’s victory in 1918 and the creation of the Mandate (1923-1948), the British promoted themselves as worthy protectors of this important heritage for the world, with the press perpetuating propaganda of the British liberating and developing Palestine after ‘it had been ruined by generations of Turkish rule’. (The Scotsman, 31 August 1921).

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Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’ and Orientalism

Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’ and Orientalism

Published April 4, 2022

Written by Haifa Mahabir

I hesitated on writing this piece, a critique of Frank Herbert’s seminal contribution to the literatures of speculative fiction. It feels a bit beneath the urgency of the topics we ordinarily lend our time to in lensing the Middle East and Northern Africa—the whole heart-breaking aftermath of foreign imperial ambitions. Our dispossession, and our grief. Our resistance.  A Saidian orientalist  critique of Dune is far too easy. Frank Herbert’s masterpiece of course, regarded as a foundational text of the Science Fiction genre, is inarguably rife with orientalist motifs and imagery.

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