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American Post-WWII Narratives: Myths, Enthymemes, and Identity

Explore the impact of historical narratives on American post-1945 history, focusing on myths, rhetoric, and the power of storytelling in shaping identities and understanding the world. Analyze events like JFK assassination and the A-Bomb controversies to uncover layers of storytelling and agency in history.

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American Post-WWII Narratives: Myths, Enthymemes, and Identity

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  1. The SuperpowerStoriesThe USA after 1945 marcin.sarnek@us.edu.plprac.us.edu.pl/~marcin.sarnekOffice Hours: THU. 1315 – 1445 / MON. 0945 – 1115, by appointment

  2. US History After1945 • In this course you will learn • About the history of the USA after 1945 • The major issues, directions and problems of the American post-WWII foreign policy • How are we going to do this? • Historical events and processes are understood as / are enriched by / are framed within / become narratives. • Those narratives shape identities. • We will look at some of these narratives to not only understand the historical processes theselves, but also see how they shape our understanding of the world. • Such narratives often originate from or become equal to myths.

  3. What kind of myths? What kind of stories? • Events, when put in a sequence, automatically create structures / plots / stories. • Example: JFK assassination and other events that are central to conpiracty theories • This will be discussed further • Rhetoric powers of historical narratives are much stronger than we are willing to accept • specifically, the rethoric power of enthymemes. • Contextualization • Edition and ommission – and enthymemes • Does all that conclude in layering of paranoid claims?

  4. Enthymeme • Syllogism • Major premise (All humans are mortal.) • Minor premise (Socrates is a human being.) • Conlusion (Socrates is mortal.) • Truncated syllogism (Socrates is human so he is mortal.) • Syllogism based on signs (Socrates sneezed, so he has a cold) • Syllogism in which the audience fills in the premise (Socrates is a politician, so he lies) • Visual enthymeme (all advertisment, really, also think about political magazine covers) / Barthes - mythology

  5. Enthymeme and rhetoric persuasion • ’’Historical policy” • ’’We must use the right narrative”

  6. we mustuse the rightnarrative

  7. birth of postmodern history?

  8. product of imagination

  9. archive

  10. atleast32still and moviephotographers on DealeyPlaza altogetherover500photographstaken Warren Report: 888pages Warren CommissionRecords: 26volumes Governmentaldocumentspertaining to JFK assassination: approx200.000pages plus estimated100.000pages of classifieddocuments plus anestimatedcourt and Congressrecord of 1.500.000pages

  11. the newman family

  12. action edition juxtaposition hence, production of enthymemes

  13. agency

  14. the act of writing

  15. delillo’soswald

  16. oswald’s story everret’s story branch’s story libra’s story

  17. oswald’s story man and history oswaldis a writer historicdiary oswaldis a creation

  18. everett’s story logic of plots everettis a writer oswaldis a creation plot is a creation chanceis a writer

  19. branch’s story completesecrethistory of JFK assassination the archive storieswithinstorieswithinstories branchis a writer how to tell the story?

  20. libra’s story men sittingalone in roomsplotting creatingstories writing

  21. digression 1oswaldbiography

  22. crisis of agency

  23. the act of reading

  24. editionjuxtaposition

  25. digression 2narrativeaspects of chessplaying?

  26. the worldis not enough

  27. digression 3 the cryptographicdigression

  28. back to chess……and poker

  29. pulling of the rug

  30. emergentnarrative

  31. illusion of agency

  32. persuasivegames

  33. sandboxgamesexperience ≠ narrative ≠ story

  34. emergentnarratives and proceduralrhetoricthe art of persuasion throughrule-based representations andinteractions rather than the spoken word, writing, images, or moving pictures (Bogost, 2007)

  35. digression 1

  36. agencythroughaction

  37. authorshipthroughaction

  38. Hiroshima and Nagasaki • Manhattan Project • Potsdam ultimatum • bombing of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) • "Litle Boy" kills approx. 140.000, mostly civilians • bombing of Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) • "Fat Man" kills approx. 80.000, mostly civilians • August 15, 1945 – Japan announces surrender (V-J Day) • September 2, 1945 – Surrendersigned

  39. A-Bomb controversies • Did the bombings help end the war sooner? • prevent invasion of Japan? • massive losses anticipated • save lives? • 100.000 POWs, Japanese civilians, American soldiers • yet: were they war-crimes? • were they militarily unnecessary? • were they acts of state-terror? • atomic logic – new strategic questions • why was terror chosen over intimidation? • why was Nagasaki attacked? • what would happen should American intelligence concerning the Japanese nuclear program fail? • started the nuclear era • intimidated the Soviets • secured the position of the USA as the superpower • worst American publicity move to date

  40. Aftermath of the WWII

  41. Aftermath of the WWII • 50.000.000 – 70.000.000 people dead • Europe in ruins • Germany occupied and later divided • Japan humiliated and occupied • revisions of borders • population relocations – repatriations and expulsions • decolonisation • emergence of the UN • emergence of two superpowers – a bipolar world • Soviet Bloc • technological advancements

  42. The Holocaust • more than a third of the Jewish global population and over two thirds of the European Jewish population perished – estimated nearly or over 6.000.000 people

  43. Aftermath of the WW II – American Perspective • 420.000 deaths (out of approx. 16.000.000 militarypersonnel) • Consider the expansion of the American military: 1939 – 137.000 in the military • nuclear superpower • Marshall plan • period of wealth and economicstabilityfollowed • The home front / role of women • G. I. Bill (Servicemen'sReadjustmentAct )

  44. The Good War / The Good War Myth • Changed how Americans perceived their role in the world (how?) • ’’The Great Crusade” (Eisenhower) • WWII was not won by Americans alone (yet the American culture created and promoted such myth) • WWII established the model for the Good vs Evil war rhetoric • ’’The Greatest Generation” (Tom Brokaw)

  45. Cold War

  46. Cold War • containment of Communism • Operation Unthinkable • proxy wars • arms race • space exploration • race to the Moon • deterrence • MAD • detente

  47. The Big Three Conferences • Tehran • Yalta • Potsdam

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