Synopses & Reviews
This history "from below" studies the cultural and social consequences of British working class womens practical engagement in the First World War. As such, it aims to transform our understanding of the nature and scope of "war" as a cultural and social category, one that constructs myths of class and gender solidarity, while manipulating class loyalties, and fueling class distinctions and divisions. Because cultural identity is always mediated by class and by material conditions, an examination of the lives, oral narratives, factory newspapers and other writings of working class women proves that during and after the First World War these women were transforming Britains cultural politics. Culletons book both investigates a wide array of cultural materials hitherto ignored and explores in detail the material culture of women workers during World War I.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [201]-213) and index.
About the Author
Claire A. Culleton is Associate Professor of English at Kent State University.
Table of Contents
Working Class Women in First World War Britain * Womens War Work, 1914-1919 * The Cultural Response * The Dangers of First World War Work * Working Class Womens Factory Newspapers * D.O.R.A. and Womens Social and Domestic Lives During the War * Womens Work and Maternity * Demobilization and the Cost of the War * Conclusion