Changing public perceptions of Winston Churchill from the First World War to 2020

这个博士项目是关于追踪随着时间的推移对温斯顿·丘吉尔的看法的变化。它将突出公众、媒体以及丘吉尔的同伙和反对者对他的看法，从他参加第一次世界大战到他作为英国战时首相的角色，直到2020年。它将记录丘吉尔在英国现代史上的声誉和角色随着时间的推移发生了怎样的变化，通常反映了更广泛的事件和当时的公众情绪，以及历史学的变化。它将表明，公众舆论和媒体对丘吉尔的报道在语气或观点上从来都不是一致的。作为对历史知识的关键贡献，该项目将主要解决围绕这位英国政治和20世纪全球历史上最知名的人物之一的问题。它还将探讨第二次世界大战的遗产，以及在二战结束后的几十年里，不断变化的当代话语如何改变、影响和挑战既定的战时叙事。该项目不仅将分析丘吉尔在两次世界大战期间的形象，还将分析直到现在，包括2020年抗议者破坏议会广场丘吉尔雕像的事件。需要解决的关键研究问题包括：公众对丘吉尔的看法如何以及为什么动摇？公众在第一次和第二次世界大战期间对丘吉尔的看法是什么？在两次世界大战期间和两次世界大战之间，媒体是如何描绘他的？二战前他的公共和政治生活事件在多大程度上影响了人们在冲突期间对他的看法？丘吉尔在第一次世界大战期间的服务和声誉有多大，就像他在20世纪30年代在政治荒野中的岁月一样，丘吉尔成为首相后，人们对他的看法也发生了变化？丘吉尔对大英帝国及其独立运动的看法在战争期间和之后是如何被英国公众和媒体接受的？这些看法是如何随着时间的推移而改变的，最终在2020年的反丘吉尔运动中达到顶峰？随着时间的推移，媒体--英国和海外媒体，以及互联网和社交媒体--在塑造公众对丘吉尔的看法方面发挥了什么作用？丘吉尔如何被选为更广泛文化问题的灯塔？可能进行的研究将包括IWM、丘吉尔档案中心、国家档案馆以及报纸和媒体档案馆，包括但不限于泰晤士报档案馆、英国广播公司档案馆、英国报纸档案馆、纽约时报档案馆、华盛顿邮报档案馆和不列颠巴雷档案馆。查特威尔、丘吉尔战争室、美国密苏里州的丘吉尔博物馆以及其他必要的档案馆和媒体中心也可能有必要进行研究旅行。还需要对二手原始文献进行彻底的调查。

This PhD project is about tracing changing perceptions of Winston Churchill over time. It will highlight how the public andthe media, as well as Churchill's associates and opponents, have viewed him from the time of his involvement in the FirstWorld War, through to his role as Britain's wartime Prime Minister and up until 2020. It will document how both Churchill'sreputation and role within modern British history have altered over time, often reflecting wider events and the public moodof the day as well as shifts in historiography. It will show that public opinion and media coverage of Churchill was neverunanimous in its tone or outlook.A key contribution to historical knowledge, this project will primarily address issues surrounding one of the most well-knownpersonalities within British politics and 20th-century global history. It will also explore the legacy of the Second World Warand how changing contemporaneous discourse has altered, affected and challenged established wartime narratives in thedecades since it ended. The project will analyse representations of Churchill not only during the two world wars but also upto the near present, including the events of 2020, in which protesters vandalized Churchill's statue in Parliament Square.Key research questions to be addressed include:How and why has public perception of Churchill vacillated?What was the public perception of Churchill during the First and Second World Wars?How was he portrayed by the media during and between the wars?How far did the events of his public and political life prior to the Second World War shape how he was viewed during theconflict?How far did Churchill's First World War service and reputation, as well as his years in the 'political wilderness' during the1930s, shape how he was viewed after he became Prime Minister?How were Churchill's views on the British Empire and its independence movements received by the British public andpress during the war and afterwards?How have these perceptions changed over time, culminating in the anti-Churchill backlash of 2020?What part has the media - both the British and overseas media, as well as the internet and social media - played inshaping public perceptions of Churchill over time?How has Churchill been co-opted as a beacon for wider cultural issues?Likely research to be undertaken will include archival research at IWM, the Churchill Archives Centre, the National Archivesand newspaper and media archives including, but not limited to, The Times Archive, the BBC Archives, the BritishNewspaper Archives, the New York Times Archive, the Washington Post Archive and British Pathé. Research trips mayalso be necessary to Chartwell, the Churchill War Rooms, the Churchill Museum in Missouri, USA, as well as otherarchives and media centres as necessary. A thorough survey of secondary source literature will also be required.