Episodes
-
How do you teach the FIrst World War?
This month we're joined by Dr Ann-Marie Einhaus and Prof Catriona Pennell to reflect on their 'First World War in the Classroom' project that explored the ways the conflict was taught in schools. Along the way we discuss the role of battlefield tours, the time constraints faced by teachers, and whether the centenary has changed the way the war is taught'
References:
The First World War in the Classroom: Teaching and the Construction of Cultural Memory -
Can you turn the First World War into sketch comedy?
This month we talk to the public historian, podcaster, and author Greg Jenner. Along the way we discuss his work on the Horrible Histories television show, the difficulties of being funny about twentieth-century history, the different ways in which the public now consume history, and why Jessica might be considering changing career to become a comedian.
References:
Horrible Histories (2008-Present)
You're Dead to Me (2020-Present) -
Missing episodes?
-
What happens when the First World War meets pulp science fiction? This month we read the novel: Black Hand Gang (the first in the No Man's World trilogy) by Pat Kelleher. The book depicts a fictional battalion of British soldiers who are transported from the Somme to a strange alien world. As a result we discuss supernatural horror and the war, the use of slang, and whether this book was written explicitly for Chris. References: Pat Kelleher, Black Hand Gang (No Manâs Word Book 1) (2011) Daniel Dafoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719) Dennis Wheatley, The Devil Rides Out (1934) Pat Barker, Regeneration (1991) Neil Gaiman, The Sandman (1989 - present) Juno Dawson, Her Majestyâs Royal Coven (2022) Reginal Hill, The Wood Beyond (1995) Blackadder Goes Forth, BBC TV (1989) Pat Mills, Charleyâs War (1979-1986) Brian Lumbley HG Wells HP Lovecraft
-
What happens when fantasy meets the First World War? This month, we read 'The Warm Hands of Ghosts' by Katherine Arden, a novel which follows Canadian nurse Laura Iven as she searches for her brother behind the lines in the militarised area known as the âForbidden Zoneâ. The plot hinges around a mysterious character called Faland, who runs an elusive hotel with no set location that men find to drink and relax In the discussion, we consider the fictional use of historical characters, whether the war began in 1917, and Chris' new scale for measuring war-related novels.
Links:
Neil Gaiman, The Sandman (1989-present) Alice Winn, In Memoriam (2023) Robert Graves, Good-bye To All That (1929) Mary Borden, The Forbidden Zone (1929) L. M. Montgomery, Rilla of Ingleside (1921) The Battle of the Somme (1916) R. H. Mottram, The Spanish Farm Trilogy (1930) Lesley Glaister, Blasted Things (2020) Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory (1975) Owen Davies, A Supernatural War (2018) Lucifer (2016-2021) Pierre Purseigle, Mobilisation, Sacrifice et CitoyennetĂ©. Des communautĂ©s locales face Ă la guerre moderne. Angleterre â France, 1900-1918 (2013) Women at War (2022) Rachel Duffett, The Stomach for Fighting (2012) Kate Macdonald, The first cyborg and First World War bodies as anti-war propaganda (2016) Kim Newman, The Bloody Red Baron (1995) Pat Kelleher, Black Hand Gang (2010) Nicci French -
This month Angus, Chris and Jessica discuss Jessica's professorial inaugural lecture, 'No (Wo)man's Land: writing history at the intersection of gender and First World War studies'. Along the way we consider the problem of masculinity as an empty analytic category, the importance of the centenary for the study of the First World War and what Jessica might have done if she hadn't gone in to academia. There is also a sneak preview of exciting forthcoming and future projects from all three of us. References: Jessica Meyer, âOn Being a Woman and a War Historianâ Jessica Meyer, Men of War: Masculinity and the First World War in Britain (2008) Jessica Meyer, Equal Burden: The Men of the Royal Army Medical Corps in the First World War (2019) Kate Adie, Fighting on the Home Front: The Legacy of Women in World War One (2013) Kate Adie, âDon't write first world war women out of historyâ, The Guardian, 23rd September, 2013 Barbara Tuchman, The Guns of August (1962) Deborah Thom, Nice Girls and Rude Girls: Women Workers in World War 1 (1998) Tammy Proctor, Female Intelligence: Women and Espionage in the First World War (2003) Margaret MacMillan, Peacemakers (2001) Adrian Gregory, The Last Great War (2008) Jeremy Paxman, Great Britain's Great War (2013) John Tosh and Michael Roper (eds), Manful Assertions: Masculinities in Britain Since 1800 (1991) Denise Riley, Am I That Name?: Feminism and the Category of âWomenâ (1988) R.W. Connell, Masculinities (1993) Joan W. Scott, âRewriting Historyâ in Margaret R. Higonnet, et. al. (eds), Behind the Lines: Gender and the Two World Wars (2008) Branden Little (ed), Humanitarianism in the Era of the First World War, special issue ofFirst World War Studies, vol.5, no.1 (2014) Heather Perry, Recycling the Disabled: Army, Medicine, and Modernity in World War I Germany (2014) Michele Moyd, Violent Intermediaries: African Soldiers, Conquest, and Everyday Colonialism in German East Africa (2014) Susan Grayzel, Women and the First World War (2002) Alexander Mayhew, Making Sense of the Great War: Crisis, Englishness and Morale on the Western Front (2024) Alice Winn, In Memoriam (2023), https://ohwhatalovelypodcast.co.uk/podcast/in-memoriam/ Sam Mendes, 1917 (2019), https://ohwhatalovelypodcast.co.uk/podcast/sam-mendes-1917-and-the-landscape/ Peter Mandler, âThe Problem with Cultural Historyâ, Cultural and Social History, vol.1, no.1 (2004), 94-117. Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory (1975) Robert Graves, Good-bye to All That (1929) Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front (1929) Rosa Maria Bracco, Merchants of Hope: British Middlebrow Writers and the First World War (1993) Pat Barker, Regeneration (1991) Sebastian Faulks, Birdsong (1993) Alison Light, Forever England: Femininity, Literature, and Conservatism Between the Wars (1991) Jessica Meyer, Chris Kempshall and Markus Pöhlman, âLife and Death of Soldiersâ, 1914-18 Online, 7th February, 2022 Chris Kempshall, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire (2024) Katherine Arden, The Warm Hands of Ghosts (2024)
-
What happens when three historians watch a key play about the First World War?
This month we took a field trip to see Oh What A Lovely War at the Leeds Playhouse. As a result we discuss the nature of the performance, the changing image of Douglas Haig, and wonder whether audiences were supposed to sing along.
References
Alan Clark, The Donkeys (1961)
John McCrae, In Flanders Field (1915)
William Phillpot, Bloody Victory: The Sacrifice on the Somme and the Making of the Twentieth Century (2010)
Dan Todman, The Great War in Myth and Memory (2005)
Oh! What a lovely war (Original London Cast) (1983) -
What opportunities did the First World War provide for cultural tourism?
This month Angus, Jessica and Chris speak to Allison Bennett, winner of the 2023 Gail Braybon Award for her work on war-time cross-cultural sexual encounters during the First World War. Along the way we discuss #MeToo, and the post-war legacies of these encounters for families, and the popularity of the Pyramids and camels as a tourist attractions.
References:
Gallipoli
Peter Stanley, Bad Characters
Alexia Moncrieff, Expertise, Authority and Control
Alan Beyerchen and Emre Spencer (eds.), Expeditionary Forces in the First World War
Tomas Irish, Universities at War
Rudyard Kipling, Kim
The Arabian Nights -
What happens when you turn a First World War medical process into a computer game? This month Angus, Jessica, and Chris take control of wartime medicine in the game War Hospital. Along the way we discuss the importance of evacuation, difficult ethical decisions, and why Chris' conscience is completely clear. If you listen to this episode and share it on social media you can also win a free copy of the game! References: War Hospital (2024) An Unequal Burden, Jessica Meyer (2019) Regeneration, Pat Barker (1991)
-
What happens when you turn the French experience of the war into a cooperative game?
This month Jessica, Angus, and Chris played The Grizzled a cooperative game focused on guiding a group of French soldiers through the war. Along the way they discuss the morale boosting merits of different drinks, the difference between physical and mental traumas, and whether they are now obliged to design their own British version.
References:
The GrizzledMeyer, Jessica, Kempshall, Chris, Pöhlmann, Markus: Life and Death of Soldiers , in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War
Kempshall, Chris: Le Poilu , in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War
Meyer, Jessica, Kempshall, Chris, Pöhlmann, Markus: Life and Death of Soldiers , in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War
Smith, Leonard V. Between Mutiny and Obedience: The Case of the French Fifth Infantry Division During World War I (2003)
Tardi, Jaques Goddam this war! (2013)
War Hospital
-
What happens when you set a telenovela in First World War France?
This month Chris, Angus and Jessica review the Netflix limited series Les Combattantes (Women at War). Along the way, we discuss untranslatable words, the relationship between war atrocities and propaganda, recreational drug use, and the excellent communication links of a small-town convent.
References:
Women at war, (2022)
The Bonfire of Destiny, (2019)
RH Mottram, The Spanish Farm, (1924)
John Horne and Alan Kramer, German Atrocities, 1914: A history of denial (2001)
Lukasz Kamienski, Shooting Up: A history of drugs in warfare (2016) -
What should we take from a First World War documentary? Following our adventure to Canada for the International Society for First World War Studies conference, we welcome Prof Robert Burgoyne to discuss his keynote paper on the Peter Jackson film They Shall Not Grow Old (2018). Along the way, we explore the ways in which war films can quote from each other, differences in structure to the film 1917, and the importance of audience expectations when creating a historical piece. References
Robert Burgoyne, The New American War Film (2023)
Santanu Das, âColors of the Past: Archive, Art and Amnesia in a Digital Eraâ, American Historical Review 124.5 (2019)
Otto Dix, Der Krieg (1924)
Adrian Gregory, The Silence of Memory (1994)
Samuel Hynes, A War Imagined (1991)
Peter Jackson, They Shall Not Grow Old (1918)
Sam Mendes, 1917 (1919)
Bal Mieke, Quoting Caravaggio: Contemporary Art, Preposterous History (1999)
Lewis Millstone, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Stephen Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan (1930)
Allison Tanine, âDigital Film Restoration and the Politics of Whiteness in Peter Jacksonâs, They Shall Not Grow Oldâ, Quarterly Review of Film and Video 39.5 (2021) Rebecca West, The Return of the Soldier (1918) -
How did the First World War inspire the horror genre? This month we welcome W. Scott Poole (Charleston) to discuss his 2018 book Wasteland: The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror. Along the way we discuss the American experience of war, the importance of J'Accuse, and the political affiliations of 20th century zombies.
-
What happens when you send Indiana Jones into the First World War?
In this episode, we are joined by Thomas Riddle.
Thomas runs the website indyintheclassroom.com (which aims to provide teachers with resources to integrate everyoneâs favourite archaeologist into the classroom) to discuss the 1990s TV series âThe Young Indiana Jones Chroniclesâ. Along the way we discuss the show as an educational tool, the many historical figures that appear in the series, and the importance of learning foreign languages!
References:
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992-1996)
Samuel Hynes, The Soldiers' Tale: Bearing Witness to Modern War (Allen Lane, 1997) -
How do you create a biopic of one of the most famous First World War poets? This month we're joined by Dr Jane Potter (Oxford Brookes) to discuss the 2021 film Benediction about the life of Siegfried Sassoon. Along the way we explore the long shadow of Regeneration, soldiers in drag, and the brilliance of Edith Sitwell. We also get very excited by a surprise cameo from the star of a previous episode! References: Alice Winn, In Memoriam (2023) Benedictionâ is a shattering biopic of the English war poet Siegfried Sassoon, LA Times Benediction review â Terence Daviesâ piercingly sad Siegfried Sassoon drama, The Guardian Brian Bond, The Unquiet Western Front (2008) Edith Sitwell, Wheels (1919) Jane Potter, Selected Letters of Wilfred Owen (2023) Regeneration, dir by Gillies MacKinnon (1997) Siegfried Sasson, The Complete Memoirs of George They Shall Not Grow Old, dir by Peter Jackson (2018)
-
What do you get when you cross Journey's End with Brideshead Revisited?
This month Angus, Chris and Jessica review Alice Winn's best-selling new novel, In Memoriam. The book follows Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood from public school and through the war. Half-German, Gaunt's mother asks him to enlist in the British army to protect the family from anti-German attacks. He signs up immediately, relieved to escape his overwhelming feelings. But Ellwood and their classmates soon follow him into the horrors of trenches. Though Ellwood and Gaunt find fleeting moments of solace in one another, their friends are dying in front of them, and at any moment they could be next.
Along the way we discuss class, conscription and the difficulties of describing the boredom and violence of war in popular fiction.
References
1917 (2019)
A.J. Evans, The Escaping Club
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam A. H. H (1850)
Alice Winn, In Memoriam (2023)
All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
Charles Carrington, A Subaltern's War
Ernst Younger, Storm of Steel (1929)
Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited
Ian Isherwood, Remembering the Great War (2017)
In Memoriam by Alice Winn review, The Guardian (12 March 2023)
Justin Fantauzzo and Robert L. Nelson (2016), 'A Most Unmanly War: British Military Masculinity in Macedonia, Mesopotamia and Palestine, 1914-18', Gender & History 28(3): 587-603, DOI: 10.1111/1468-0424.12240
Second Lieutenant Kenneth Macardle
Heartstopper (2022)
Max Plowman, A Subaltern on the Somme
Pat Barker, Regeneration Trilogy (1991-1995)
Peaky Blinders
RC Sherriff, Journeyâs End (1928)
Rupert Brookes, Goodbye to All That (1929)
Siegfried Sassoon, Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man (1929)
Star Trek
Stephen Fry, The Liar
The Gallows Pole (2023)
The Great Escape (1963)
The History Boys (2006)
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
This Is the Week That Was
Pat Barker, Regeneration Trilogy (1991-1995) -
What First World War cultural representations would you like to see adapted for the screen?
This month Angus, Chris and Jessica discuss their dream adaptations of novels, short stories and computer games for the big or small screen. Along the way, we explore what makes for a good film versus a good television series, we consider how to overcome the challenge of the Bechdel test in filming the war, and Chris introduces us to the Bertie Wooster/animé scale of realism.
References:
1917, dir. by Sam Mendes (1919)
AG Macdonell, England, Their England (1933)
Akira, dir. by Katsuhiro Otomo (1988)
All Quiet on the Western Front, dir. by Edward Berger (2022)
Capt WE Johns, Biggles Goes North (1939)
Capt WE Johns, Biggles Goes East (1935)
Emma Hanna, The Great War on the small screen (2009)
Ford Madox Ford, Parades End (1924)
Frederic Manning, Her Privates We (1930)
Lupin, Netflix (2021)
Peter Berresford Ellis et al, Biggles!: Life of Captain WE Johns (1993)
Ralph Hale Mottram, The Spanish Farm Trilogy (1930)
RC Sherriff, Journeyâs End (1928)
Sapper, Bulldog Drummond (1920)
The Wind Rises, dir. by Hayao Miyazaki (2013
The Monocled Mutineer, dir. by Jim OâBrien (1986)
Valiant Hearts: The Great War, Ubisoft (2014) -
By popular demand!
This month Chris, Angus and Jessica discuss productions of R.C. Sherriff'sJourney's End, including the original play and the 1930 and 2017 film versions. Along the way, we consider the importance of James Whale, whether the French changed their clocks during the war and the definition of an anti-war play, while Chris makes a bid for the over-arching significance of moustaches to the history of the war.
References
RC Sherriff, Journeyâs End (1928)
Emily Curtis Walters, Between Entertainment and Elegy: The unexpected success of RC Sherriffâs âJourneyâs Endââ, Journal of British Studies 55.2
James Whale, Journeyâs End (1930)
James Whale, Frankenstein (1931)
James Whale, The Road Back (1937)
James Curtis, James Whale: A new world of Gods and Monsters (2003)
Lewis Millstone, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930
N Enstaff, Journeyâs End: York Notes for GCSE (2006)
Rosa Maria Bracco, Merchants of Hope: British Middlebrow Writers and the First World War, 1919-1939 (Berg, 1993)
Saul Dibb, Journeyâs End (2017)
Scott Poole, Wasteland: The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror (2018) -
What happens when Peaky Blinders meets Ballet Rambert?
This month Chris finds out about Jessica and Angus's trip to see Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby, otherwise known as Peaky Blinders: The Ballet. Along the way we discuss the narrative structure of ballet, the industrialisation of the body in wartime and whether we are still living in the era of the First World War.
References
Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby Rehearsal Video New dance theatre version of Peaky Blinders by creator Steven Knight Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight interview on Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby 'Peaky Blinders' writer Steven Knight on the cult of the show and season 6
Cabaret (1966)
Metropolis (1927/1984)
Les Miserables (1985)
Abel Gance, J'Accuse (1919)
Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory (1975)
Robert Gerwarth and John Horne (eds.), War in Peace: Paramilitarism in Europe after the Great War, 1917-1923 (2011) -
How do you stage an exhibition on POWs at a museum? This month we're joined by Lora Vogt from the National WW1 Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, to discuss their new exhibition: 'Captured'. Along the way, we talk about how POWs have been obscured from modern memory, the benefits of online content, and how to make someone drive five days across America.
-
What happens when you convert a seminal First World War novel into a big budget film?
This month Angus, Jessica, and Chris discuss the 2022 Netflix version of All Quiet on the Western Front. Along the way they debate the importance of timeline changes, the film's use of violence, and pitch a few alternative films to any listeners from Hollywood.
References
Lewis Millstone, All Quiet on the Wester Front (1930)
Delbert Mann, All Quiet on the Western Front (1979)
Abel Gance, J'accuse (1919)
Saul Dibb, Journey's End (2017)
37 Days (2014)
Sam Mendes, 1917 (1919)Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front (1928)
Frederic Manning, Her Privates We (1929)rottentomatoes.com, All Quiet on the Western Front
- Show more
