"It's hard to recall those things when life is so different today:" the role of discourse, memory, and agency in uncovering experiences of southern Alberta war brides
Date
2014
Authors
Young, Elizabeth
University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of History, 2014
Abstract
Using the historically-specific group of Southern Alberta war brides, European
women who married Canadian servicemen during the Second World War, this thesis
demonstrates and contests the discursive constructions of historical knowledge. Within
this context, fundamental issues of agency, discourse, memory, and experience are the
focal points of this examination. This thesis provides a critical reinterpretation of these
core issues to uncover what role, if any, the war brides play in the construction of their
own historical images and how their identities are informed by the discursive
representations of them. Using discursive representations and oral history interviews of
the war brides, this thesis revisits current debates within women’s history such as the role
of discursive formation, the question of experience, and the debate surrounding collective
and personal memory to make conclusions about the active or passive role these women
play in the writing and representation of their histories.
Description
v, 161 leaves ; 29 cm
Keywords
War brides , Southern Alberta , Women's history , Discursive formation , Experience , Collective memory , Personal memory , Dissertations, Academic