Aftershocks : Politics and Trauma in Britain, 1918-1931

This book examines the impact of collective trauma arising out of the Great War on the politics of the 1920s in Britain. Aftershocks studies how meanings of shellshock and imagery presenting the traumatized psyche as shattered contributed to Britons understandings of their political selves in the 1920s. It connects the force of emotions to the political culture of a decade which saw extraordinary violence against those regarded as un-English. Aftershocks Argues The Crucial Connection Between Structures Of Feeling And Political Culture In Britain. Britons Incorporated Into Their Understandings Of Their Political Selves The Meanings Attached To Shellshock, Especially The Imagery That Informed The View Of The Traumatized Psyche As Shattered. The Political Force Of Emotions Must Be Appreciated If We Are To Grasp The Political History Of Britain In The 1920s, A Decade Whose Historians Have Failed To Come To Grips With The Extraordinary Violence Visited Upon Those Regarded At The Time As 'un-english'. Shellshocked Britons Turned To Certain Political Actions To Repair The Collective Psyche: The Passage Of The Aliens' Act Of 1919; The Race Riots Of 1919; The Amritsar Massacre In 1919; The Reprisals Against The Irish In 1919-21; The General Strike Of 1926; And The Debates Over The Bill To Enfranchise Women Over The Age Of 30 In 1927 And The Igbo Women's War Of 1929.--book Jacket. Britons' Shattered Psyche -- Jews, Blacks, And The Promises Of Radical Conservatism, 1919-1925 -- The Amritsar Massacre, 1919-1920 -- Reprisals In Ireland, 1919-1921 -- The General Strike Of 1926 -- Flappers And The Igbo Women's War Of 1929 (with Marc Matera) -- Conclusion : Resolving The National Crisis Of 1929-1931. Susan Kingsley Kent. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 218-225) And Index. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 9 Introduction......Page 12 1 Britons' Shattered Psyche......Page 21 2 Jews, "Blacks," and the Promises of Radical Conservatism, 1919–1925......Page 46 3 The Amritsar Massacre, 1919–1920......Page 75 4 Reprisals in Ireland, 1919–1921......Page 102 5 The General Strike of 1926......Page 133 6 Flappers and the Igbo Women's War of 1929......Page 160 Conclusion: Resolving the "National Crisis" of 1929–1931......Page 191 Notes......Page 207 Bibliography......Page 229 C......Page 237 E......Page 238 I......Page 239 M......Page 240 Q......Page 241 T......Page 242 Z......Page 243 Britons' shattered psyche Jews, "blacks," and the promises of the radical right, 1919-1925 The Amritsar Massacre, 1919-1920 Reprisals in Ireland, 1919-1921 The general strike of 1926 Flappers and the Nigerian women's war of 1929 (with Marc Matera) Conclusion : resolving the "national crisis" of 1929-1931.