Overview

The Cultural Politics of Veterans' Narratives investigates the role of veterans' stories in our collective cultural and political life. Drawing on contemporary narrative theory, it offers a conceptual framework for studying veterans' narratives, followed by a series of unique empirical chapters dealing with different genres of veteran storytelling, including trauma, transition, culture and identity, and the Afghanistan war memoir. The book questions the British veteran as a political figure, exploring what their stories tell us about the morality and politics of war as well as military life. It also traces how social norms about militarism, nationalism, and patriotism pivot as a result. Caddick considers what the stakes are for veterans as their stories interact with wider cultural narratives, and for society in grappling with the 'militarist terms of reference' these stories impart to us.

Full Product Details

9781474492805

Table of Contents

Reviews

The Cultural Politics of Veterans' Narratives is timely in the renewed focus it gives to the veteran as a political subject in post-Covid and post-Brexit Britain. Caddick's analysis is a masterclass in writing with nuance and care. An important and refreshing intervention in Critical Military Studies scholarship. --Alice Cree, Newcastle University In this superb and significant book, Nick Caddick explains how and why veterans' stories matter in contemporary society. With a rare self-awareness and sensitivity to the contradictions of post-military life, Caddick deftly navigates how veteran identities become entwined with sentiments ranging from patriotic pride to social isolation. Crucially, the rich narrative analysis of case studies also recognises the diversity of veteran experience. --Katy Parry, University of Leeds

Author Information

Anglia Ruskin University.

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