Aline Gaus
DEUG Sociology and Anthropology, Université Marc Bloch, Strasbourg (F)
BA (Hons) Sociology, University of Hull
MSc Political Sociology, London School of Economics
Berlin Graduate School of Social Sciences, Humboldt Universität, Berlin (D)
email : a.gaus@sheffield.ac.uk
Project web site: http://lestweforget.group.shef.ac.uk/wp/
PhD research project
"Lest We Forget:
Memorialising sacrifice, marking community and marching to a different drum"
Key words: memory, war, identity
Abstract:
Since 2007, hundreds of people have lined the streets of the small English town of Wootton Bassett to honour the memory of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan as their coffins are paraded through town. My PhD research examines how Wootton Bassett appears to have assumed responsibility for mourning the fallen on behalf of the nation.
During the fieldwork phase, the particular characteristics of the repatriation ceremony will be examined, in order to analyse the values, meanings and roles which are being negotiated, formulated and asserted through the ritual. The fieldwork will concentrate on interviewing key actors, on participant observation, and on analysing archival data.
The ritual practices observed in this town can be understood as ways to renew the bonds between members of the community, local and national, (re)negotiating symbolic boundaries. The memorialisation of sacrifice in the name of the nation functions as a constant reminder of collective identity, by drawing it into communal memory. Embedded in scholarly discussions of memorialisation, identity and ritual, this study is an opportunity to produce the first in-depth ethnography of this unique ritual, its genesis, its impact, and its end in September 2011.
Supervisor(s)
Papers, publications and presentations
Gaus, A. (2010), 'Decent Work for a Decent Future: Reviewing Labour Supplier Practices in Europe' in: M. Wilkinson et al.: Forced Labour in the UK and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. Contemporary Slavery Research Centre: WISE, University of Hull.
Craig, G., A. Gaus, M. Wilkinson (2007) Contemporary Slavery in the UK: Overview and Key Issues. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
June 2010 Conference Paper: 'Lest We Forget: war, memory and identity' presented at Public Lives, Private Lives, a conference co-organised by the Centre for Research in Memory, Narrative and Histories, University of Brighton and the Centre for Life History and Life Writing, University of Sussex.
2007 Master's Thesis: 'How successful are local organisations in improving the situation of migrant workers from A8 accession countries? – A case study in the Humberside area'. London School of Economics.
2006 Bachelor's Thesis: 'The Wall in People's Heads: East German identity since the Reunification in 1990'. University of Hull.
Awards and scholarships
Obi Igwara Award, University of Hull
Work experience
Teaching:
I teach different undergraduate modules at the Department of Sociological Studies. Additionally, I am a lecturer and seminar leader for social sciences at the Sheffield International College.
Other:
In the past, I have acted as a research assistant for the Wilberforce Institute Hull and worked on issues of international development with Oxfam Germany and UNDP Guatemala.
Languages
German, English, French (fluent), Spanish (reading)