SOC 315

Catalog description

When most people think of “war”—whether in Ukraine, Gaza, Afghanistan, or Iraq—they think of combat. But war is more than just fighting: How do states raise armies and keep them supplied? Under what conditions are these military supplies produced? Who reaps war’s benefits and who bears its costs? Why do ordinary people consent to wartime sacrifices—and what happens when they withdraw that consent? In this course, we will examine how societies make war, and how war remakes societies. We will consider these relationships from antiquity through the twenty-first century, with a special focus on the United States. From the World Wars to the War on Terror, students will explore how the U.S. has made war around the world and how, in the process, war has remade the United States.