University of Leeds - World War One: Changing Faces of Heroism
Available from 27 October 2014
Published: 23 July 2014
How did the war move us away from traditional views of heroism, featuring distant figureheads and brave warriors, and create new kinds of heroes and heroines, such as ordinary Tommies and front-line nurses?
The emergence of alternative hero figures, including anti-war campaigners and vulnerable, shell-shocked soldiers, is also covered in the course, as is the legacy we are left with today.
Exploring art, literature, film and television, learners on this course will examine the portrayals of heroism before, during and since the war. They will tap into the wealth of online archives, such as interviews with some of those who took part in the war, and other resources made available by several organisations, including the BBC.
Learners will be guided through an analysis of a range of images of World War One heroism, including propaganda posters, war memorials, novels and films. They will be encouraged to curate their own exhibition of heroism using www.bbc.co.uk/yourpaintings, among other exercises.
They will also look at the war from a range of perspectives, with University of Leeds experts leading them through the changing British, French and German views of heroism.
BBC content provided for the course includes film and archive materials alongside the BBC iWonder guide, How Did Harry Patch Become An Unlikely World War One Hero? This will accompany original sources from the University of Leeds.
Professor Alison Fell, who leads the University of Leeds’ Legacies of War Centenary project, says: “The war made people question not only what makes a war hero or heroine, but whether it was desirable – or even possible – to be heroic in mass industrialised warfare. Working with the fascinating voices and images from the past stored in the BBC archive has been vital in helping my fellow course tutors and I understand how and why World War One changed our ideas about heroism.”
