- ホーム
- > 洋書
- > 英文書
- > History / World
Full Description
The short-lived Ministry of Information (MoI, 1939-1946) had an outsized impact. It played a key role in the allied war effort, and its work has reverberated in British culture ever since, from its much darker version (as the 'Ministry of Truth') in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four to memes based on the slogan 'Keep Calm and Carry On'. But despite its long legacy, it has been the subject of limited scholarly investigation.
This multi-authored volume corrects this by offering the first comprehensive and global history of the MoI, which introduced something new to British society: the idea of a formal state mechanism to issue and control information. In consequence it was an inherently ambivalent institution: its negative side (the threat of an un-British level of state control) could be offset by the MoI's perceived ability to generate a sense of national purpose at a time of crisis. The remit of the MoI extended far beyond war-time propaganda and the home front, and the book demonstrates the remarkable breadth and depth of its activities: it attempted to justify Britain's empire in varied ways; it was active across a range of media, from pamphlets and posters to public meetings, films and exhibitions; and it was truly transcontintental, with a consolidated presence in many countries in Africa, Asia Australasia, the Americas, and Europe.
The book sheds light on an important but little-understood chapter of British wartime history, and the final days of the British Empire. The lively and highly illustrated chapters raise important and timely questions about the nature of state surveillance, information, and propaganda in an increasingly global world.
Contents
Simon Eliot and Henry Irving: Introduction
PART I EVOLUTION
1: Henry Irving: The Planning Stage, 1935-9
2: Henry Irving: Confusion, 1939-40
3: Henry Irving: The Limits of Influence, 1940-1
4: Henry Irving: Efficiency over Power, 1941-6
PART II OPERATION
5: Simon Eliot: Life in Senate House
6: Henry Irving: News Management and Censorship
7: Simon Eliot: The Postal and Telegraph Censorship
8: Simon Eliot and Henry Irving: Home Intelligence, Morale, and Market Research
9: Simon Eliot: Publications Mostly for British Readers
10: Simon Eliot: Publications Mostly for Readers Abroad
11: Simon Eliot and Jane McArthur: Photographs Division, the Graphic Arts, and Censorship
12: Jenna Lundin Aral: The Exhibitions Division
13: Simon Eliot and Hollie Price: The Films Division
14: Simon Eliot: Public Meetings
Part III Combined Operations
15: Henry Irving: Home Publicity Campaigns
16: Louis Allday, Christopher Bannister and Marc Wiggam: Campaigns Abroad
17: Simon Eliot and Marc Wiggam: The Regions and Their Histories
Part IV Legacy
18: Simon Eliot, Katherine M. Howells and Henry Irving: The Afterlife of the Ministry of Information
