The Cultural and Intellectual Rebuilding of France after the Second World War : (1944-47)

This book reveals how France reinvented itself in the aftermath of WWII. After foreign military interventions, the French political and intellectual elites embraced regime change and launched an urgent program of nation building. They rebuilt French national identity with whatever material was available, and created a vibrant new cultural and intellectual life. The cost to subordinated groups, however, especially women, still casts a long shadow over French values and attitudes. In this, perhaps, there are lessons and implications for other countries, struggling to rebuild themselves after conflict. This book reveals how France reinvented itself in the aftermath of the Second World War. After foreign militart interventions, the French political and intellectual elites embraced regime change and launched an urgent programme of nation building. With remarkable unanimity, they rebuilt French national identity with whatever material was available, reassembling words, images, ideas and symbols from the past to create a secure national arena in which the divisions and debates of the new France could be safely contained. There was a cost to subordinated groups, not least to women, which still casts a long shadow over French values and attitudes. But the result was a vibrant cultural and intellectual life that became the hallmark of France's international reputation. The way this was achieved might offer lessons for other countries, struggling to rebuild themselves after conflict This book reveals how France reinvented itself in the aftermath of World War Two. After foreign military interventions, the French political and intellectual elites embraced regime change and launched an urgent programme of nation building. They rebuilt French national identity with whatever material was available, and created a vibrant new cultural and intellectual life. The cost to subordinated groups, however, especially women, still casts a long shadow over French values and attitudes. In this, perhaps, there are lessons and implications for other countries, struggling to rebuild themselves after conflict. Annotation This book reveals how France reinvented itself in the aftermath of WWII. After foreign military interventions, the French political and intellectual elites embraced regime change and launched an urgent program of nation building. They rebuilt French national identity with whatever material was available, and created a vibrant new cultural and intellectual life. The cost to subordinated groups, however, especially women, still casts a long shadow over French values and attitudes. In this, perhaps, there are lessons and implications for other countries, struggling to rebuild themselves after conflict Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 9 Acknowledgements......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 1 Contexts for Rebuilding......Page 23 2 Inventing a Language......Page 44 3 Finding the Symbols......Page 70 4 Workers and Intellectuals......Page 95 5 Regendering the Nation......Page 117 6 The Humanist Moment......Page 138 7 The Battle of Ideas......Page 166 Conclusion......Page 191 Notes......Page 199 Bibliography......Page 222 B......Page 236 D......Page 237 F......Page 238 L......Page 239 N......Page 240 R......Page 241 S......Page 242 Z......Page 243 "This book reveals how France reinvented itself in the aftermath of the Second World War."--BOOK JACKET