Emotional Imprints of War

Publication

2023

Bielefeld University Press, Bielefeld

A Computer-Assisted Analysis of Emotions in Dutch Parliamentary Debates, 1945-1989

Historical research can be enhanced by methods and resources from various disciplines, ranging from psychology to computer linguistics. With a creative and innovative perspective on »things we think we know«, Milan van Lange presents a computer-assisted historical investigation into the role of emotions in dealing with consequences of World War II in the Netherlands. By »emotion mining« digitised sources, Van Lange shows where emotions were present and how they were expressed and discussed in the political engagement with people who experienced long-term effects of the war, such as former collaborators and war criminals, the resistance, and war victims.

The book (open access) is based on the author’s PhD thesis, defended at Utrecht University in 2021. The research project was supervised by prof. dr. Ismee Tames (NIOD and Utrecht University), prof. dr. Ralf Futselaar (NIOD and Erasmus University), and prof. dr. Yasuto Nakano (Kwansei Gakuin Univeristy, Nishinomiya, Japan) and funded by the NIOD.

The book is accessible via:

www.bielefeld-university-press