Another Turn of the Spiral : A Barthesian Pursuit of the Meaning of Remembrance

Regan, Michael and Schad, John (2020) Another Turn of the Spiral : A Barthesian Pursuit of the Meaning of Remembrance. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

This thesis, through a combination of autobiographical reflections and a consideration of the work of Roland Barthes, offers a new approach to thinking about the British culture of “Remembrance.” Remembrance is here defined as a range of practices, including, in particular, the selling and wearing of the Remembrance Poppy, the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, the Two Minute Silence held on both Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday, and the ceremonies held at the Cenotaph on Whitehall. The thesis explores how Remembrance is presented as an uncomplicated and unchanging phenomenon, and considers how this is simply not the case and what follows from this realisation. The thesis employs throughout a method that might be termed “creative-critical” or “post- critical,” which means that it seeks to move beyond the conventional form of the essay or thesis in the hope of finding – and presenting – new insights on a familiar subject. This occurs most obviously in the way in which the thesis has been written, which is close to what is called a “stream-of-consciousness.” Furthermore, the thesis draws heavily from the entire oeuvre of Roland Barthes, whose work has never before been used to analyse Remembrance so thoroughly. The references to Barthes – which are peppered throughout the text – are offered without quotation marks (to signal just how embedded Barthes’s thoughts are with mine), but are instead coloured in blue (as a way of distinguishing his words from my own). The thesis takes the form of four chapters, each of which is based on one of the seasons, beginning with autumn. The thesis plays on the different images and metaphors of each season in order to offer four different (but related) engagements with the question of Remembrance.