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Warrior Nation podcast: War and Memory – Culture

December 2021

December 9, 2021 SEASON 3 EPISODE 6

In the final episode of Series 3, Joe speaks with Essex University historian Lucy Noakes and Chicago-based artist Michael Rakowitz on the creation of cultural memories around war and conflict. They cover a wide array of topics, including the Churchillian turn of British World War II narratives and how the words monument and demonstrate are linked by their roots in Latin. Their discussion beautifully encapsulates a number of topics covered across the series and explores more radical ways of remembering - or remembering better.

Warrior Nation podcast – War & memory: Witnessing

July 2021

In the second episode of our new series on war and memory, we speak with founder of Forensic Architecture Eyal Weizman and academic Susan Schuppli on the role memory plays in testimony and witnessing. The discussion explores the different approaches to evidence in war crimes tribunals, starting with the Nuremburg trials of 1945, and explains how the contemporary work of Forensic Architecture is helping to unlock the hidden memories of the victims of state violence.

Warrior Nation podcast – War & memory: Statues

June 2021

In the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, and the Conservative Government's attempt to impose a maximum sentence of 10-years for vandalising statues, we speak with academics Natasha Danilova and Adam Elliot-Cooper on the national histories constructed through memorials and statues, and the spaces of reconstruction opened up by their removal.

High ideals: VE Day, Covid and an anti-militarist future

On the 75th anniversary of VE Day, we reflect on what happened to the ideas and hopes that flourished after the Second World War, and what we can learn from this for a post-COVID world. This article was first published in Peace News.

Planning Remembrance Day events in your school

2018

This guidance is based on five-years of research carried out by Oxford Brookes University and Brunel University London. It looks at how school leaders can approach discussing ethical themes related to conflict.

War School film

2018

A film about recent militarism and the battle for the hearts and minds of young people in the UK. The film follows the stories of Ben Griffin, former SAS soldier and founder of Veterans for Peace UK, and Quaker activist Sam Walton, and features the work of ForcesWatch and partner organisations. See war.school and related learning resources.

White Poppies for Schools

updated August 2018

We have teamed up with the Peace Pledge Union to produce a White Poppy Schools Pack, which aims to explore Remembrance in a way that encourages critical thinking, and gives space for marginalised perspectives on war and peace. The learning resource can be read online here, or purchased from the Peace Pledge Union as a bigger pack including white poppies and white poppy leaflets.

Taking action on militarism films

November 2017

Two short films from the Take Action on Militarism event.

Take Action on Militarism: website and resource pack

October 2017

ForcesWatch have teamed up with Quaker Peace & Social Witness to produce a resource pack to help people take action on militarism in their communities. And there is a website to go with it where you can download the pack or order a hard copy, find links to more resources etc.

Dissenting from the Old Lie

Every year, the fury levied at those who critique or refuse the red poppy obscures the complexity and spectrum of views such dissenters open up. What is lost in this explosion of vitriol and misunderstanding is the opportunity to allow us, as empathic human beings, to be open to divergent viewpoints, to think honestly about wars and to discuss their causes.