History of War in Modern Society

Catalog description

War has been one of the greatest agents of change in world history, and it has shaped irrevocably the world in which we live. This course explores modern war and the idea of war since the late 18th Century and focuses on the transition in the 20th Century to the realities of both “total” wars and “world” wars, and considers the role of war in modern state-building, in social movements and institutions, and in intellectual and artistic expression. An important aspect involves a consideration of the intellectual, philosophical, and cultural history of war, including the development of the ethics of war in an international context. This is not a course in military history. Satisfies GE area: UD3