War in the Early Modern and Modern World

Catalog description

The study of the causes, conduct, and political, social, diplomatic, cultural, and economic consequences of war from 1500 to the present. HIST 541 War in the Early Modern and Modern World (3) This course offers an introduction to the complexity of war in the early modern (1400-1850) and modern world (1850 to the present). Since war has been experienced across the entire world, the course will draw readings and examples from North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. It brings together the two major approaches to the study of war, both the traditional emphasis on the battlefield and the more recent consideration of both the battlefront and the political, social, economic, and cultural homefronts. Specifically, this course considers the various methodologies that have shaped the ways in which historians have asked and answered such fundamental questions as how and why wars start, have been averted, and ended. The study of military theory provides the intellectual framework that shaped the study and conduct of war at specific periods of history and in specific cultural context. The evolution of a nation's military theory over time reflects the impact of changes in technology, the changing social composition of its armed forces, the strength of the economic support the national government will supply, and much more. Thus, this course considers issues relevant to armies (technology, soldier experience in battle), to the government (laws of war, revolutions in military affairs, military doctrine, war and national identity), and to the people (issues relating to race, class, and gender; antiwar activism, popular literature) for a fuller understanding of the overarching impact of war in the modern and early modern world.