Europa geht durch mich

This is turning into an annual event, as the time of year rolls round when I teach module EURO30605 Memory & Identities in European Culture, thinking about the way that the Spanish Civil War and its International Brigade volunteers are remembered.  2021 will be a very different year.  Under Covid restrictions, we can’t make the …

Continue reading “The Nottingham Memory Wars continue”

It’s a very long time since I’ve posted here, but in advance of another visit to the International Brigades memorial at Nottinghamshire County Hall, I thought I’d add a few more thoughts and clarifications. When I made the original post, I claimed that when the memorial was first installed in 1993, it ‘did not immediately …

Continue reading “The Nottingham International Brigades memorial – corrections and memories”

In the previous post, I highlighted the importance of memorial plaques – often taken for granted and passed by – in reclaiming suppressed histories and reasserting identity.  As an afterthought, I want to highlight one small way in which these struggles are still being reflected closer to home, in Nottingham – showing that the contentious …

Continue reading “Contested historical memory in Nottingham”