Fighting a Different Enemy: Social Protests against Authority in the Australian Imperial Force during World War I

Title
Fighting a Different Enemy: Social Protests against Authority in the Australian Imperial Force during World War I
Publication Date
2007
Author(s)
Wise, Nathan
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7657-3310
Email: nwise@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:nwise
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Place of publication
United Kingdom
DOI
10.1017/S0020859007003215
UNE publication id
une:1959
Abstract
During World War I, the rank and file of the Australian Imperial Force utilized humour in their social protests against both their officers and the military regimen. This paper looks at the expression of this humour through a variety of mediums and explores the value of humour in providing an outlet through which these men could vent their anger at the military system. It further seeks to highlight how the adoption of humour in social protests became a secure part of the Australian soldiers' "working" identity and how this was sustained throughout the war by the masculine image of the soldier. Further to this, the paper examines the decline in the use of humour in social protest amongst war veterans in the postwar era and its replacement by a more sombre attitude towards protests.
Link
Citation
International Review of Social History, 52(Supplement S15), p. 225-241
ISSN
1469-512X
0020-8590
Start page
225
End page
241

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