Bearing Witness : Perspectives on War and Peace From the Arts and Humanities

As the centenary of the Great War approaches, citizens worldwide are reflecting on the history, trauma, and losses of a war-torn twentieth century. It is in remembering past wars that we are at once confronted with the profound horror and suffering of armed conflict and the increasing elusiveness of peace. The contributors to Bearing Witness do not presume to resolve these troubling questions, but provoke new kinds of reflection. They explore literature, the arts, history, language, and popular culture to move beyond the language of rhetoric and commemoration provided by politicians and the military. Adding nuance to discussions of war and peace, this collection probes the understanding and insight created in the works of musicians, dramatists, poets, painters, photographers, and novelists, to provide a complex view of the ways in which war is waged, witnessed, and remembered. A compelling and informative collection, Bearing Witness sheds new light on the impact of war and the power of suffering, heroism and memory, to expose the human roots of violence and compassion. Contributors include Heribert Adam (Simon Fraser University), Laura Brandon (Carleton University), Mireille Calle-Gruber (Université La Sorbonne Nouvelle), Janet Danielson (Simon Fraser University), Sandra Djwa (emeritus, Simon Fraser University), Alan Filewod (University of Guelph), Sherrill Grace (University of British Columbia), Patrick Imbert (University of Ottawa), Tiffany Johnstone (PhD Candidate, University of British Columbia), Martin Löschnigg (Graz University), Lauren Lydic (PhD, University of Toronto), Conny Steenman Marcusse (Netherlands), Jonathan Vance (University of Western Ontario), Aritha van Herk (University of Calgary), Peter C. van Wyck (Concordia University), Christl Verduyn (Mount Allison University), and Anne Wheeler (filmmaker). As the centenary of the Great War approaches, citizens worldwide are reflecting on the history, trauma, and losses of a war-torn twentieth century. It is in remembering past wars that we are at once confronted with the profound horror and suffering of armed conflict and the increasing elusiveness of peace. The contributors to Bearing Witness do not presume to resolve these troubling questions, but provoke new kinds of reflection. They explore literature, the arts, history, language, and popular culture to move beyond the language of rhetoric and commemoration provided by politicians and the military. Adding nuance to discussions of war and peace, this collection probes the understanding and insight created in the works of musicians, dramatists, poets, painters, photographers, and novelists, to provide a complex view of the ways in which war is waged, witnessed, and remembered. A compelling and informative collection, Bearing Witness sheds new light on the impact of war and the power of suffering, heroism and memory, to expose the human roots of violence and compassion. Contributors include Heribert Adam (Simon Fraser University), Laura Brandon (Carleton University), Mireille Calle-Gruber (Universit La Sorbonne Nouvelle), Janet Danielson (Simon Fraser University), Sandra Djwa (emeritus, Simon Fraser University), Alan Filewod (University of Guelph), Sherrill Grace (University of British Columbia), Patrick Imbert (University of Ottawa), Tiffany Johnstone (PhD Candidate, University of British Columbia), Martin L schnigg (Graz University), Lauren Lydic (PhD, University of Toronto), Conny Steenman Marcusse (Netherlands), Jonathan Vance (University of Western Ontario), Aritha van Herk (University of Calgary), Peter C. van Wyck (Concordia University), Christl Verduyn (Mount Allison University), and Anne Wheeler (filmmaker). Cover Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Preface: Bearing Witness For What? An Introduction PART I: Exploring the Roots of War: Performance, History, Poetry, and Language 1 Warplay: Spectacle, Performance, and (Dis) Simulation of Combat 2 Understanding the Motivation to Enlist 3 Canadian Poets on War 4 Metaphor, Metalepsis, and the Colonial Library: Deconstructing Inyenzi and Ubuhake Metaphors in Gil Courtemanche’s A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali and Julien Pierce’s Speak, Rwanda PART II: Bearing Witness to War and Peace: The Vocabularies of Literature, Art, and Photography 5 The Georgics of War and Peace: Following Claude Simon, Nobel Laureate 6 “Expressionist-Artillerist”: “Poet” and “Soldier” as Conflicting Role Models in German Avant-Garde Poetry from the First World War 7 Above or Below Ground? Depicting Corpses in First and Second World War Official Canadian War Art 8 Bearing Witness and Cultural Memory: The Wreckage, Burning Vision, and War in the Pacific 9 Emmy Andriesse, Dutch Wartime Photographer: The Hunger Winter of 1945 PART III: Taking Some Lessons from History: Rhetoric, Ethics, and the Search for Peace 10 Underlining the Lies Surrounding the “Holy War” and “Infinite Justice” 11 Comparing South Africa’s Negotiated Settlement with Elusive Peacemaking in Israel/Palestine 12 Northern War Stories: The Dene, the Archive, and Canada’s Atomic Modernity PART IV: For What? Artists’ Reflections on Film, Poetry, and Music 13 Perspectives on War 14 On Active Service, and Let Us Wake from This Dream: A Poem and a String Quartet Notes Bibliography Contributors Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Z