Jay Winter
Encyclopedia
Jay M. Winter is an American historian. He is the Charles J. Stille Professor of History at Yale University
, where he focuses his research on World War I
and its impact on the 20th century. His other interests include remembrance of war in the 20th century, such as memorial and mourning sites, European population decline, the causes and institutions of war, British popular culture in the era of the First World War and the Armenian genocide
of 1915. He is completing a biography of René Cassin
.
He obtained his A.B.
at Columbia
and his Ph.D.
at Cambridge
. Winter is also affiliated with the Historial de la Grande Guerre in Peronne
, France
, a research center and museum of the First World War in European cultural history.
Winter is an influential scholar in the study of the First World War and its place in twentieth-century European history and culture. His earlier work was largely that of social history, including The Great War and the British People (1986) focuses on the war's demographic impact on the British population. In more recent works he has taken the approach of a cultural historian, most notably in Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning (1995) where he advocates a more transnational focus for studying the war and European culture. In this book, he analyzes the various ways the people of Germany, France and Great Britain mourned their losses during and after the war.
He has also co-authored and co-edited books on the First World War, including a survey of the war's historiography, The Great War in History: Debates and Controversies, 1914 to the Present (with Antoine Prost, 2006) and The Great War and the Twentieth Century (with Geoffrey Parker and Mary Habeck, 2000). He is co-director of the project on Capital Cities at War: Paris, London, Berlin 1914-1919, which has produced two volumes.
Jay Winter was co-producer, co-writer and chief historian for the PBS
series "The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century," which won an Emmy Award
, a Peabody Award
and a Producers Guild of America Award
for best television documentary in 1997.
At Yale, he teaches a lecture course entitled "Europe in the Age of Total War, 1914-1945," in which he argues that World War I
, World War II
, and the inter-war period, are better understood as one "European Civil War."
He also worked with American demographer Michael S. Teitelbaum on high levels of migration toward countries experiencing fairly low fertility rates (The Fear of Population Decline, 1985 and A Question of Numbers, 1998).
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he focuses his research on World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and its impact on the 20th century. His other interests include remembrance of war in the 20th century, such as memorial and mourning sites, European population decline, the causes and institutions of war, British popular culture in the era of the First World War and the Armenian genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
of 1915. He is completing a biography of René Cassin
René Cassin
René Samuel Cassin was a French jurist, law professor and judge. A soldier in World War I, he later went on to form the Union Fédérale, a leftist, pacifist Veterans organisation...
.
He obtained his A.B.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
at Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and his Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
at Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. Winter is also affiliated with the Historial de la Grande Guerre in Peronne
Péronne, Somme
Péronne is a commune of the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It is close to where the Battles of the Somme took place during World War I...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, a research center and museum of the First World War in European cultural history.
Winter is an influential scholar in the study of the First World War and its place in twentieth-century European history and culture. His earlier work was largely that of social history, including The Great War and the British People (1986) focuses on the war's demographic impact on the British population. In more recent works he has taken the approach of a cultural historian, most notably in Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning (1995) where he advocates a more transnational focus for studying the war and European culture. In this book, he analyzes the various ways the people of Germany, France and Great Britain mourned their losses during and after the war.
He has also co-authored and co-edited books on the First World War, including a survey of the war's historiography, The Great War in History: Debates and Controversies, 1914 to the Present (with Antoine Prost, 2006) and The Great War and the Twentieth Century (with Geoffrey Parker and Mary Habeck, 2000). He is co-director of the project on Capital Cities at War: Paris, London, Berlin 1914-1919, which has produced two volumes.
Jay Winter was co-producer, co-writer and chief historian for the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series "The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century," which won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
, a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
and a Producers Guild of America Award
Producers Guild of America Award
The Producers Guild of America Award was originally established in 1990 as the Golden Laurel Awards, created by PGA Treasurer Joel Freeman with the support of Guild President Leonard Stern, in order to honor the visionaries who produce and execute motion picture and television product...
for best television documentary in 1997.
At Yale, he teaches a lecture course entitled "Europe in the Age of Total War, 1914-1945," in which he argues that World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and the inter-war period, are better understood as one "European Civil War."
He also worked with American demographer Michael S. Teitelbaum on high levels of migration toward countries experiencing fairly low fertility rates (The Fear of Population Decline, 1985 and A Question of Numbers, 1998).
Works
- Socialism and the Challenge of War: Ideas and Politics in Britain, 1912-18
- The Great War and the British People (1986)
- The Fear of Population Decline (with Michael S. Teitelbaum)
- A Question of Numbers (with Michael S. Teitelbaum)
- The Experience of World War I
- Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning: The Great War in European Cultural History (1995)
- 1914-1918: The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century
- Remembering War: The Great War between History and Memory in the 20th Century
- Dreams of Peace and Freedom: Utopian Moments in the 20th Century (2007)
External links
- Official page at Yale
- Interview on PBS.org