Military Thought I

Catalog description

The phenomenon of war is among the most persistent, complex, and important of all social interactions. Since war began, military thinkers have struggled to understand war in terms coincident to their own time and place, creating theories about wars nature, purpose and conduct through which one may trace its historical evolution. This seminar offers the student of military history an opportunity to come directly to grips with fundamental questions of war as they have been addressed in this body of formal thought. Seminar readings will therefore turn on a study of major works of military theory, together with other readings that set these theories within their historical and intellectual context. And because the student of military history is commonly required to contend with several competing theories at any one time, the seminar will address the nature, purpose and structure of military theory itself, so as to equip the student with the means to judge a theory’s explanatory powers.