Overview
- Compares how Britain and France address their colonial histories, exploring how memories of colonialism have been expressed and silenced
- Examines the role of activists, politicians, journalists and professional historians in inciting public conversation about the colonial past
- Explores the importance of colonial history to the ongoing, politicised public debates over national identity in both Britain and France
Part of the book series: Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies (CIPCSS)
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About this book
This book explores national attitudes to remembering colonialism in Britain and France. By comparing these two former colonial powers, the author tells two distinct stories about coming to terms with the legacies of colonialism, the role of silence and the breaking thereof. Examining memory through the stories of people who incited public conversation on colonialism: activists; politicians; journalists; and professional historians, this book argues that these actors mobilised the colonial past to make sense of national identity, race and belonging in the present. In focusing on memory as an ongoing, politicised public debate, the book examines the afterlife of colonial history as an element of political and social discourse that depends on actors’ goals and priorities. A thought-provoking and powerful read that explores the divisive legacies of colonialism through oral history, this book will appeal to those researching imperialism, collective memory and cultural identity.
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Keywords
Table of contents (12 chapters)
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Front Matter
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France
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Front Matter
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Britain
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Reviews
“Itay Lotem’s rich and conceptually informed study … in which colonialism and slavery have been remembered publicly in France and Great Britain is an important contribution to a better understanding of the general patterns and particularities of the surge in colonial memories across Europe. … By the sheer wealth of information and insights he provides, Lotem proves himself to be an invaluable guide … that will continue to demand the attention of societies and states in Europe and beyond.” (Jan C. Jansen, German Historical Institute London Bulletin, Vol. 45 (2), November, 2023)
“The book is engagingly written, and is notable in its ambition, scope, and breadth of research undertaken. … The Memory of Colonialism makes several important and timely interventions in the study of historical remembrance and postcolonial identity. … His book will surely become a cornerstone of the growing scholarship on colonial memory, and deserves to be widely read.” (M. Kathryn Edwards, Social History, April 7, 2022)
“The book is engagingly written, and is notable in its ambition, scope, and breadth of research undertaken. … The Memory of Colonialism makes several important and timely interventions in the study of historical remembrance and postcolonial identity. … His book will surely become a cornerstone of the growing scholarship on colonial memory, and deserves to be widely read.” (M. Kathryn Edwards, Social History, April 7, 2022)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Itay Lotem is a Lecturer in French Studies at the University of Westminster, UK. He has published in academic journals like Modern and Contemporary France, French Politics, Culture and Society and French History in addition to appearances in the media.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Memory of Colonialism in Britain and France
Book Subtitle: The Sins of Silence
Authors: Itay Lotem
Series Title: Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63719-4
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2021
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-63718-7Published: 13 March 2021
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-63721-7Published: 14 March 2022
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-63719-4Published: 12 March 2021
Series ISSN: 2635-1633
Series E-ISSN: 2635-1641
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: X, 428
Topics: Imperialism and Colonialism, Memory Studies, History of France, History of Britain and Ireland