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Centenary of WWI Armistice, Commemoration, and Memory

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Media Discourse of Commemoration

Part of the book series: Postdisciplinary Studies in Discourse ((PSDS))

Abstract

As the introduction to this book, this chapter provides the contextual and theoretical backgrounds for the case studies presented in the subsequent chapters. It starts with the commemorative events of the Centenary of First World War (WWI) armistice in the seven European States whose online news media are analysed. Then, brief literature reviews on commemoration and memory, memories and Europe, and news media and memories follow. This background information allows to position the study of online media discourse on commemoration of this book. The chapter ends with the presentation of the online news media that were analysed, and an introduction to each following chapter.

The content of this chapter is the result of an equal collaboration between the four authors. For reasons of stylistic cohesion, it was written by the first author with the feedback of the three other authors.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This film received the 2018 Cesar Awards for Best Adaptation, Best Cinematography, Best Director, and Best Production Design.

  2. 2.

    https://www.centenaire.org/en/la-mission/centenary-partnership-program.

  3. 3.

    History, social sciences, literature, museology, and so on.

  4. 4.

    https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/itinerance-memoire-dhier-territoires-daujourdhui.

  5. 5.

    https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/2018/11/12/ceremonie-internationale-du-centenaire-de-larmistice-du-11-novembre-1918-a-larc-de-triomphe.

  6. 6.

    Where the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier rests.

  7. 7.

    “La leçon de la Grande Guerre ne peut être celle de la rancœur d’un peuple contre d’autres, pas plus que celle de l’oubli du passé. Elle est un enracinement qui oblige à penser à l’avenir et à penser à l’essentiel.” (https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/2018/11/12/discours-du-president-de-la-republique-emmanuel-macron-a-la-ceremonie-internationale-du-centenaire-de-larmistice-du-11-novembre-1918-a-larc-de-triomphe).

  8. 8.

    https://parispeaceforum.org/program/.

  9. 9.

    “Ce sentiment que plus aucune guerre n’est possible entre Européen parce que nous sommes bien plus semblables que nous ne sommes différents et parce que l’histoire a fait émerger progressivement une singularité, une identité, une culture, une vocation européenne” (https://www.centenaire.org/fr/dans-le-monde/europe/allemagne/discours-du-president-francais-emmanuel-macron-devant-le-bundestag).

  10. 10.

    https://www.centenaire.org/fr/espace-pedagogique/services-educatifs/concours-franco-allemand-eustory-201719-la-paix-et-la-grande.

  11. 11.

    Speech by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, at the handover ceremony on December 17, 2013, https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/newsroom/news/131217-bm-antrittsrede/258766.

  12. 12.

    https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-en/news/speech-by-federal-chancellor-angela-merkel-at-the-opening-of-the-paris-peace-forum-on-11-november-2018-1549780.

  13. 13.

    https://www.bundespraesident.de/SharedDocs/Reden/EN/Frank-Walter-Steinmeier/Reden/2018/11/181109-German-Bundestag-9-November.html.

  14. 14.

    http://www.centenario1914-1918.it/it/la-struttura-di-missione.

  15. 15.

    “Terrone” is a depreciative epithet given by people from Northern Italy to people from Southern Italy.

  16. 16.

    “L’obiettivo generale che il progetto persegue è quello di una “messa in opera della memoria” che punti a recuperare, prima ancora dei resti materiali, la testimonianza dei fatti.” (http://www.ecomuseograndeguerra.it/veneto/musei_e_raccolte/museo.php?d459aac6a9ae2515a3af3a46b9e34042).

  17. 17.

    “La Repubblica celebra qui la Vittoria e la conclusione di quella guerra, che sancì il pieno compimento del sogno risorgimentale dell’unità d’Italia, con l’arrivo, a Trieste, dell’Audace e della Grecale della nostra Marina e con l’ingresso dell’Esercito a Trento.” http://www.centenario1914-1918.it/it/2018/11/05/grande-guerra-le-celebrazioni-la-fine-delle-ostilita.

  18. 18.

    https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2018/11/10/speech-by-president-donald-tusk-november-11-2018-poland-and-europe-two-anniversaries-two-lessons/.

  19. 19.

    http://centenar.gov.ro/web/.

  20. 20.

    RG, 07/11/2018, Novoselova, Elena, “Proryv I ataka”.

  21. 21.

    RG, 10/11/2018, Medinskii, Vladimir, “V kamne, v bronze, v živoj pamjati”.

  22. 22.

    https://gwar.mil.ru/.

  23. 23.

    RG, 07/11/2018, Novoselova, Elena, “Proryv I ataka”.

  24. 24.

    RG, 10/11/2018, Medinskii, Vladimir, “V kamne, v bronze, v živoj pamjati”.

  25. 25.

    100-letie Pervoj mirovoj vojny—Sajt Rossijskogo istoričeskovo obščestva: https://historyrussia.org/proekty/100-letie-pervoj-mirovoj-vojny.html.

  26. 26.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/we-will-remember-them%2D%2D2.

  27. 27.

    It was only on 30 December 2020, that is the day before the last day of the withdrawal transition period, that the British Parliament approved the Brexit withdrawal agreement negotiated by Prime Minister Boris Johnson who had been elected in December 2019.

  28. 28.

    YouGov conducted opinion polling of 2008 GB adults between 9 and 10 December 2018. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+). YouGov is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules (Buckerfield and Ballinger 2019: 25).

  29. 29.

    https://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2012/10/11/david-cameron-great-war-centenary-speech-in-full/.

  30. 30.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/we-will-remember-them%2D%2D2.

  31. 31.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/bells-to-ring-out-and-10000-to-march-past-the-cenotaph-as-the-nation-says-thank-you.

  32. 32.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/online-guide-to-help-communities-learn-about-their-shared-ww1-history.

  33. 33.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-leads-first-world-war-commemorations-in-india.

  34. 34.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/armistice-2018.

  35. 35.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/09/may-and-macron-pay-tribute-to-war-dead-at-somme-ceremony.

  36. 36.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/03/may-praises-closeness-europe-armistice-centenary.

  37. 37.

    “Une cérémonie officielle organisée pour conserver la conscience d’un événement déterminant de l’histoire, perçu comme fondateur d’une identité et mobilisateur d’une société. Il s’agit d’un acte politique qui procède d’un choix considéré comme porteur de sens pour les générations actuelles.”

  38. 38.

    https://www.4imn.com/about/index.htm#ranking (accessed 13 April 2021).

  39. 39.

    https://meduza.io/en/feature/2020/05/12/conspiring-with-these-people. The article states that “Journalists from Meduza, Forbes, The Bell, and Vedomosti were able to verify these claims using multiple documents”.

  40. 40.

    Meduza is a news media that reports in Russian and English on Russia and the former Soviet Union. It is implanted in Riga (Latvia).

  41. 41.

    https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/vedomosti-what-happened-to-russias-leading-financial-media/.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Elisabeth Le

  2. CY Cergy Paris Université, Cergy, France

    Luciana Radut-Gaghi

  3. University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

    Alida Maria Silletti

  4. Europa-Universität Flensburg, Flensburg, Germany

    Hedwig Wagner

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  1. Elisabeth Le
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  2. Luciana Radut-Gaghi
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  3. Alida Maria Silletti
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  4. Hedwig Wagner
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Correspondence to Elisabeth Le .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Elisabeth Le

  2. CY Cergy Paris Université, Cergy, France

    Luciana Radut-Gaghi

  3. Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

    Alida Maria Silletti

  4. Sprache, Literatur und Medien, University of Flensburg, Flensburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

    Hedwig Wagner

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Le, E., Radut-Gaghi, L., Silletti, A.M., Wagner, H. (2021). Centenary of WWI Armistice, Commemoration, and Memory. In: Le, E., Radut-Gaghi, L., Silletti, A.M., Wagner, H. (eds) Media Discourse of Commemoration. Postdisciplinary Studies in Discourse. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90079-3_1

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