This volume brings together scholars from across Europe to critically examine TV history programming in a period of political, economic and cultural change. They look at links between programming and national identity, consider the representation of minorities, and explore a range of televisual genres and techniques.

A collection of essays examining the representation of history on television in Europe from a transnational and interdisciplinary perspective

Introduction: History on Television in Europe: The Past Two Decades; E.Bell & A.Gray PART I: PERSPECTIVES 'Once Upon A Time...': Visual Design and Documentary Openings; J.Corner History on Television: The Problem of Sources; P.Sorlin & L.Cigognetti Combating 'A Message Without a Code': Writing the 'History' Documentary; B.Winston Contexts of Production: Commissioning History; A.Gray Beyond The Witness: The Layering of Historical Testimonies on British Television; E.Bell PART II: TELEVISED HISTORY AND NATIONAL IDENTITY Staging Historical Leaders on French Television: The Example of Napoleon Bonaparte; I.Veyrat-Masson Landscape and Memory: British Television Documentaries about the First World War; E.Hanna Mediated Collective Memory and the Political Process Towards Democracy in Spain: An Analysis of the Spanish TV Historical Documentary Series La Transición ;  S.Hernandez Corchete PART III: TELEVISED HISTORY, MEMORY AND IDENTITY Television Fiction, A Domain of Memory: Retelling the Past on Dutch Television; S.de Leeuw Facing the Truth, Pain, and Reconciliation; A.Blaney Women and War:  M.Rohringer History in Popular Television Drama: The Flemish Past in Wij , Heren van Zichem ; A.Dhoest PART IV: HISTORY PROGRAMMING: FORM, GENRE, TECHNIQUE 'I Feel Completely Beautiful For the First Time In My Life': Bodily Re-Enactment and Reality Documentary; J.de Groot (Re)Constructing Biographies: German Television Docudrama and the Historical Biography; T.Ebbrecht Flog It!: Nostalgia and Lifestyle on British Daytime Television; I.Kleinecke Who Do You Think You Are? Family History and Memory on British Television; A.Holdsworth Conclusion: Broader Themes and Televisualisation; E.Bell & A.Gray Notes Bibliography Index