War
| Module title | War |
|---|---|
| Module code | HIH3334 |
| Academic year | 2025/6 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 10 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 32 |
|---|
Module description
War is an ancient and contested concept. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus called it “the father of all” around 500 BCE while the Bible lists “conquest” and “war” as two of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Wars were proclaimed to be “just” or “holy”, but many people reject it on philosophical or religious grounds. The concept of “total war” developed in tandem with efforts to codify the laws of war and mitigate its impact. War was praised as antidote to modern materialism, but the “military-industrial complex” (Dwight D. Eisenhower) creates ever more sophisticated high-tech weapons. War is the subject of countless games but defined by cruelty. It was, for a long time, regarded as the ultimate test of manhood but is now increasingly conducted by drones, robots, or in cyberspace. It was once just waged against enemy armies but is now also fought against drugs, smoking, or obesity. In this module, you will explore and discuss different concepts of war and its impact on thought, society, culture, and people.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This ‘Concepts’ module requires you to engage with historical ideas and theories relating to war that are applicable across time and space. You will be encouraged to think beyond the detail of your Special Subjects and Dissertations, using a range of illustrative case studies to examine broader ideas. You will have to consider how ideas and concepts about war vary, develop, or manifest consistently in different time periods and places, and why they are constructed as they are. What can this tell us about past peoples and societies, and what are the implications for the world in which we now live?
All History ‘Concepts’ modules are partly project-based, requiring you to take the initiative. In the first half of term, a team of tutors will introduce themes, concepts, and ideas, setting you up for the rest of the module. The second half of term is student-led: you will work in groups to develop your understanding of war and lead a seminar to teach fellow students more about war through a series of case-studies.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Analyse and explain key developments in the history and concept of war across different historical time-periods and geographical regions
- 2. Evaluate carefully and critically the approaches that historians and scholars working in other disciplines have taken to the concept of war
- 3. Define suitable research topics for independent study/student-led seminars on the history and concept of war
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Analyse the key developments in complex and unfamiliar political, social, cultural or intellectual environments
- 5. Evaluate different and complex types of historical source and historiography.
- 6. Present work in the format expected of historians, including footnoting and bibliographical references.
- 7. Identify and deploy correct terminology in a comprehensible and sophisticated manner
- 8. Evaluate critically different approaches to history in a contested area
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 9. Work both in a team and independently in order to prepare and lead a seminar
- 10. Digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment.
Syllabus plan
In this module, we will not trace the history of specific armed conflicts but focus on a range of concepts, discourses, and practices which developed in connection with and reaction to war. We will discuss why, how, and when they evolved and declined over time, the impact they had, and how they still influence our approach to and examination of interstate armed conflicts. The specific topics covered will vary according to tutor availability but may include:
- On War 101: key concepts, principles and themes
- The Concept and Development of Military History
- Declarations of War and Peace Treaties: Two Dying Concepts?
- The Concepts of “Laws of War” and “Total War”
- The Concepts of “Just” and “Holy” Wars
- Prisoners of War: The Rise and Fall of a Concept
- War at Sea: A Different Type of War?
- The Concepts of “Warfare” and “Welfare States”
- The Concept of the “Military-Industrial Complex”
- The “Western Way of War”
- The Future of War: Predicting the Next Conflict
- The Concept of the War Correspondent
- The Concept of War Photography
- War as Entertainment: War Games throughout History
- Wars of Annihilation: Genocide and Culturicide
- The Concepts of War Heroes and War Criminals
- Manly Warriors? War, Gender, and Sexuality
- The Concept of Knightly Combat in Modern War: Fighter Pilots in Popular Culture
- Selling War: Warfare and Advertising
- Selling War: Militaria
- The Experience of War
- War and Culture
- Glorifying War: Militarism throughout History
- The Unknown Soldier
- The Concept of the War Veteran and its Impact on Politics and Society
- War Graves and War Memorials
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | 273 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 9 | 9 x 1-hour workshops |
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 2 | 2 x 1-hour lectures |
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 16 | Seminars (tutor-led = 5x2 hours; student-led = 6x1 hour) |
| Guided independent study | 273 | Reading and preparation for seminars, workshops, and assessment |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminar plan and schedule of work | 1000 words | 1-9 | Oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student-led seminar, including supporting materials | 45 | 1 hour | 1-9 | Written |
| Written assignment | 45 | 3000 words | 1,2,4-8,10 | Written |
| Attendance at student-led seminars and support workshops | 5 | Attendance at student-led seminars and support workshops | 9 | N/A |
| Full completion of ELE log | 5 | Full completion of ELE log | 9 | N/A |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student-led seminar, including supporting materials | 5-minute recorded introduction to the topic; 10-minute recording explaining supporting materials and intentions for their use in a seminar; supporting materials | 1-9 | Referral/Deferral Period |
| Written Assignment (3000 words) | Written assignment (3000 words) | 1,2,4-8,10 | Referral/Deferral Period |
Re-assessment notes
The re-assessment consists of a 3000-word Written Assignment, as in the original assessment, but replaces leading a student-led seminar with recordings and supporting materials that correspond to one student’s contribution to such a seminar. The introduction should outline the student’s understanding of the topic; the longer recording should explain how the seminar would be structured and organised, as well as detailing the material to be used. This will enable the marker to gain a sense of what the student’s understanding of their concept and its specific application in the seminar, what the student intended to do in the seminar, and the rationale for this activity, as well as enabling them to assess the student’s oral seminar-leading skills.
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Black, Jeremy, Rethinking Military History, London, Routledge, 2004.
Butler, Richard and Suntikul, Wanatanee. (eds). Tourism and War. London and New York: Routledge. 2013
Chesterman, Simon. Just War or Just Peace: Humanitarian Intervention in International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Demoor, Marysa; Dijck, Cedric van; and Puymbroeck, Birgit van. (eds.) The Edinburgh Companion to First World War Periodicals. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 2023.
Solis, Gary D. The Law of Armed Conflict: International Humanitarian Law in War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Schabas, William, Genocide in International Law: The Crime of Crimes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
House, Jonathan M. A Military History of the Cold War. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2020.
Kalyvas, Stathis, N. The Logic of Violence in Civil War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Allan, Stuart, Barbie Zelizer, Reporting War: Journalism in Wartime. London: Routledge, 2004.
Makepeace, Claire Captives of War: British Prisoners of War in Europe in the Second World War. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 2017.
Graff, David, A. (ed.) The Cambridge History of War. War and the Medieval World, Cambridge. Cambridge University Press, 2020.
Kramer, Alan. Dynamic of Destruction: Culture and Mass Killing During the First World War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Chickering, Roger (ed.) Cambridge History of War, Work and the Modern World. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 2012.
Schofield, Julian. Militarization and War. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 2007.
Seethhaler, Josef; Karmasin, Matthias; Melischek, Gabriele; and Wohlert, Romy. Selling War: The Role of the Mass Media in Hostile Conflicts from World War I to the War on Terror. Bristol and Chicago: intellect. 2013.
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Last revision date | 04/09/2024 |
