From the First World War to Iraq

Teaching War and Conflict Through Contemporary Literature and Culture – A Reflection and Response

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21838245
AutoresCristina Pividori (0000-0003-1281-4792, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona, autor de correspondencia), Andrew Frayn (0000-0001-6253-1454, Edinburgh Napier University)
Año2026
Volumen17
Número1-2
Páginas161-178
Fecha de publicación2026-05-04
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaFirst World War Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1947-5020 • E-ISSN: 1947-5039
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/19475020.2026.2634300
OpenAlexW7165777801
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas23

This paper takes the form of a dialogue between two lecturers reflecting on the teaching of war literature at postgraduate and undergraduate levels. Cristina Pividori introduces a course designed for the MA in English Studies at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, shaped by the Beyond Postmemory research group. Her module explores how second- and later-generation Anglophone writers revisit twentieth- and twenty-first-century conflicts through inherited trauma, mediated memory, and ethical reflection. The course uses a three-phase model – contextualisation, textual analysis, and synthesis – draws connections to contemporary conflicts, and combines analytical essays with active forum and class participation. In response, Andrew Frayn reflects on two undergraduate modules taught at Edinburgh Napier University: one focused on the First World War and the other addressing global war narratives across literature, film, and television. The conversation considers the pedagogical, ethical, and emotional challenges of teaching war, particularly the articulation of violence, the everydayness of conflict, and the role of landscape and memorialisation. Together, the two authors explore how teaching war literature across academic levels can encourage critical thinking, ethical engagement, and historical awareness in students, while prompting reflection on the cultural omnipresence of violence in the twenty-first century

Conversation · First world war · Narrative · Omnipresence · Spanish Civil War · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Peace and Human Rights Education · World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact