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“Write your Life!” : enforced autobiography and Cold War subjectivities in the Korean War (1950-1953)
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Huxford, Grace (2015) “Write your Life!” : enforced autobiography and Cold War subjectivities in the Korean War (1950-1953). Life Writing, Volume 12 (Number 1). pp. 3-23. doi:10.1080/14484528.2015.981774
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14484528.2015.981774
Abstract
This article explores the range of life writing produced by British prisoners of war during the Korean War (1950–3). By examining enforced diary-keeping, public confessions and self-criticism within prisoner of war camps ran by the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV), this article uses the example of British servicemen to demonstrate how British prisoners of war were constantly called upon to reflexively consider their role as servicemen and their reasons for being in Korea. Such self-reflection was even called for upon their return home when prisoners were interrogated by British authorities. Through examining the context and form of these under-used life narratives, this article suggests that the concept of ‘enforced narrative’ has a wide utility for theorists of life writing and calls for a reappraisal of individual volition within autobiographical writing.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Arts > History | ||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Life Writing | ||||||||
| Publisher: | Routledge | ||||||||
| ISSN: | 1448-4528 | ||||||||
| Official Date: | 2015 | ||||||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | Volume 12 | ||||||||
| Number: | Number 1 | ||||||||
| Number of Pages: | 21 | ||||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 3-23 | ||||||||
| DOI: | 10.1080/14484528.2015.981774 | ||||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access |
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