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Ex-military experiences of embodying British state violence and colonial occupation

Picture of Dr Hannah Wilkinson
Date(s)
March 26, 2026
Location
6 College Park, Room 0G.007
Time
15:00 - 16:00

In this seminar, Dr Hannah Wilkinson (University of Nottingham)  presents research findings from in-depth visual and narrative interviews with ex-soldiers who delivered British state violence in the 'war on terror'. While participants expressed how joining the military institution offered a temporary escape from socio-economic conditions of struggle, the research found that being state agents of war and colonial occupation led to lasting harms and embodied tensions in post-military life. Through a sensory analysis of interviews, participants' experiences show how the militarised dehumanisation necessary to kill had to be embodied as soldiers first, before being deployed against 'enemies'. Further, that the embodied traces of war, occupation and grave breaches of the Geneva Convention require complex processes of healing, which are rarely considered or provided for during military to civilian transitions. The research has implications for understanding current contexts of military violence, particularly in sites of ongoing Western occupation, and for finding ways to de-militarise and heal bodies after exposure to war. 


The seminar will be held on Thursday 26 March 2026 at 3pm in 6 College Park, room 0G.007. 

Department
School of Law
School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work
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Subject/Theme
Academic
Legal Studies