TRENT UNIVERSITY
Peterborough Campus
Department of History
Winter 2015
HIST 2102H War and Society since 1800
This course explores war and society in the modern era. We open with an examination of
revolutionary warfare and nation-building, before addressing the topics of imperial war and
the total wars, World War I and II. Lectures will also address naval and air warfare, pacifist
reaction to war and conclude by addressing the perils of nuclear and asymmetric war.
Course Instructor
Dr. David Lawrence
E-mail: dlawrence@trentu.ca
Office Hours: Thursday 10:00AM-11:00AM
Office: LEC S101.5
History Department: Trisha Gayle Pearce 705-748-1011, X7706
Please check http://www.trentu.ca/admin/mytrent/AcademicTimetable.htm to confirm
times and locations.
Course Times
Lecture: Lecture Thursday 1:00PM - 02:50PMEaton Commons, Room 201
Seminar Times
Group A Seminar Thursday 3:00PM - 02:50PM, Science Complex, Room W3
Group B Seminar Thursday 4:00PM - 04:50PM, Science Complex, Room W3
Group C Seminar Thursday 5:00PM - 05:50PM, Science Complex, Room W3
Group D Seminar Thursday 6:00PM - 06:50PM, Science Complex, Room W3
Required Textbooks
Charles Townshend, The Oxford History of Modern War, Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2005.
Lawrence Freedman, War, Oxford University Press, 1994. (Seminar readings)
Blackboard
The course syllabus, lecture outlines and lecture slides, as well as weekly seminar questions
will be posted on Blackboard. Please download the outlines and slides before attending
lectures and seminars.
Evaluation criteria
Tutorial Participation
Book and a Movie!
Research Essay Bibliography
Research Essay
Final Exam
Total
15%
25% (Due February 12)
5% (Due February 26)
25% (Due March 26)
30% (Exam Period April 10-24)
100%
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Course Goals
This second year course offers students an introduction to the topic of war and society in the
modern era through an analysis of primary sources and key historiographical debates in the
field. Students will be expected to read and critically assess a scholarly monograph and a
movie dedicated to the topic of war and society, to undertake independent research using
primary and secondary sources and to evaluate, develop and formulate their critical thinking
via lectures and seminar discussions. On completing the course, students should have
improved written and oral communication skills and a better understanding of the methods of
historical writing and the variety of ways that historians, political and social scientists
approach the subject of modern war.
Seminars and Assignments
Book and a Movie! (25%): Due Thursday, February 12
The first assignment is a 1000-word (4-page, doubled-spaced) review of one of the movies
listed on the assignment sheet. This, however, is not a typical movie review. You must also
read one of the books listed alongside the movie and review the movie based on the
knowledge you have gleaned from the book. It is up to you to decide whether to watch the
movie and then read the book, or vice versa. The review should provide a plot summary of
the movie, assessing the historical accuracy of the story, the characters and setting (using the
book as a reference). The review should also assess the tone of the work, exploring whether
the director seeks to glorify or condemn war. The review should open with an introduction
providing some background with regards to both the movie and the book, followed by a
summary of the movie, with an analytical paragraph offering a critique of the movie (again,
with the book in mind). The review should end by assessing what the movie reveals about the
broader themes of war and society that we discuss in class.
Seminar Participation: (15%) Your participation grade is not strictly based on attendance, but
rather on your demonstrating that you have read the assigned readings from Lawrence
Freedman’s War, by participating avidly in the group discussions. Participation is evaluated
for quality, rather than quantity. It is important to keep in mind that repeated absences will
affect your participation grade.
Research Essay Bibliography (5%) Due: Thursday, February 26
In preparation for the final research essay due on March 26, you will need to choose a topic
and find 5 monographs/biographies/survey texts and 2 journal articles on your topic which
will be listed on the word document provided in the Research Essay Folder. The expectation
is that the books and articles will be used for the paper and this assignment allows the
professor to review the sources you are selecting, determine whether they are sufficient to
address the research question and direct you to other sources that may help with your
research. I also want you to provide me with a general research question as to where you want
to focus your research.
Research Essay (25%): Due Thursday, March 26
The research essay will be 2500-words in length (approx. 10 double-spaced pages) and chosen
by the student from a list provided by the instructor or a topic of student’s own choosing (in
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consultation with the instructor). The essay should include footnotes or endnotes and a
bibliography according to proper scholarly style. The final mark will be based on the quality
of research, organization, writing style, and cogency of argument. The Research Essay
questions and the assignment instructions can be found on the course website by clicking on
Assignments and then the Research Essay Folder
Students will be required to use at least 8 sources in total; this includes 5
monographs/biographies/survey texts, 1 primary source and 2 journal article. The paper
should have a cover page, with a title, and your name, student # and the date of the
assignment in the bottom right hand corner. You will also need to include a bibliography (in
correct form) as well as footnotes or endnotes in your paper.
_______________________________________________________________________
Final Examination (30%) TBA Exam period (April 10-24)
Students will take a 3-hour final examination during the university’s examination period,
April 10-24. The exam will cover work from the entire term and will include identifications
from the bold terms on the weekly lecture outlines and two essays. Essay questions for the
exam will be taken from the questions that accompany each of the weekly lecture outlines.
Students will be expected to reference two (2) readings from the seminar text in each of their
essay answers.
Course Policies
Deadline Policy
A hard copy of all written assignments is due at the beginning of class on the due date. Later
papers are penalized 1% per day (including weekends). E-mail submissions only will be
accepted if there are extenuating circumstances.
Academic Integrity
Academic
dishonesty,
which
includes
plagiarism
and
cheating,
is
an
extremely serious academic offence and carries penalties varying from a 0 grade on an
assignment to expulsion from the University. Definitions, penalties, and procedures for
dealing with plagiarism and cheating are set out in Trent University’s Academic Integrity
Policy. You have a responsibility to educate yourself - unfamiliarity with the policy is not an
excuse. You are strongly encouraged to visit Trent’s Academic Integrity website to learn
more at www.trentu.ca/academicintegrity
Access to Instruction
It is Trent University’s intent to create an inclusive learning environment. If a student has a
disability and/or health consideration and feels that he/she may need accommodations to
succeed in this course, the student should contact the Student Accessibility Services (SAS)
(BH Suite 132, (705-748-1281) at the following email address accessibilityservices@trentu.ca as
soon as possible. Complete text can be found under Access to Instruction in the Academic
Calendar.
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Lectures and Textbook Readings
Date
January 8
January 15
Lecture
Introduction: Modern
Warfare
Revolutionary Warfare I
January 22
National Wars
January 29
Imperial Wars
February 5
Total War I
February 12
Book and Movie Due
February 14-22
February 26
Research Essay Bibliography
March 5
Naval Warfare
March 12
Revolutionary Warfare II
March 19
Nuclear War
March 26
Research Essay Due
April 2
Pacifism
READING WEEK
Total War II
Air War
Asymmetric Warfare
Readings
Townshend, Modern Warfare,
pp.40-73
Townshend, Modern Warfare,
pp.74-93
Townshend, Modern Warfare,
pp.94-116
Townshend, Modern Warfare, pp.
117-137, 201-223
Townshend, Modern Warfare,
pp.245-261
Townshend, Modern Warfare,
pp.138-157, 280-302
Townshend, Modern Warfare,
pp.262-279
Townshend, Modern Warfare,
pp.175-197
Townshend, Modern Warfare,
pp.341-363
Townshend, Modern Warfare,
pp.317-340
Townshend, Modern Warfare,
pp.138-157, 280-302
Seminar Readings
Date
January 8
January 15
January 22
Lecture
Introduction: Modern
Warfare
Revolutionary
Warfare I
National Wars
Readings
No Seminars
Online via Course Website
John A. Lynn, “Evolution of Army Style in the Modern
West, 800-2000”, International History Review, Vol.
18. No 3. (Aug. 1996), pp. 505-543.
From Freedman, War
- Efraim Karsh, Causes of War and Quincy Wright,
Definitions of War, 65-70
- Raymond Aron, Biological and Psychological Roots, pp. 7781
- Martin Van Creveld, Why Men Fight, pp. 85-89
- A Royal Naval Rating at the Battle of Trafalgar, pp. 12-13
- A French Infantryman at Waterloo, 18 June 1815pp. 15-16
- Napoleon, Maximes, pp. 214-217
From Freedman, War
- Carl von Clausewitz, Key Concepts, pp. 206-212
- Baron De Jomini, Strategy and Grand Tactics, 212-214
- A Union-Confederate Infantry Skirmish at Gettysburg, pp.
16-17
- Brian Holden Reid and John White, Desertion in the
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January 29
Imperial Wars
February 5
Total War I
February 12
Naval Warfare
February 1422
February 26
READING WEEK
March 5
Air War
March 12
Nuclear War
Total War II
American Civil War, pp. 139-142
- Andrew Lambert, Crimean Illusions, pp. 260-266
- Saul B. Cohen, Geopolitics, pp. 81-85
- Geoffrey Best, Restraints on Land, pp. 266- 270
- Christopher Dandeker, The Bureaucratization of Force, pp.
118-123
From Freedman, War
- Martin Navias and Timothy Moreman, Limited War and
Developing Countries, pp. 309-314
- C. E. Callwell, Small Wars, pp. 315-316
- Charles W. Gwynn, Imperial Policing, pp. 316-317
- L.J. Shadwell, Savage Warfare, pp. 318-319
- A British Soldier Fighting the Mahdists in the Sudan, pp. 1719
- Douglas Porch, The Tactical Offensive in France, pp. 270272
From Freedman, War
- Seyom Brown, Structural Factors, pp. 99-105
- Charles Ardant Du Picq, Moral Elements in War, pp. 222225
- Ian Beckett, Emergence of Total War, pp. 254-259
- B.H. Liddell Hart, An Infantry Officer at the Battle of the
Somme, pp. 22-24
- Julian Corbett, Command of the Sea, pp. 225-227
- Colin Gray, The Strategy of Blockade, pp. 285-288
- A German Seaman at the Battle of Jutland, June 1916,pp. 1922
- Donald Macintyre, The Destruction of Two U-Boats,
March 1941, pp. 31-33
From Freedman, War
- Arturo Barea, A Spanish Republican Official at the Siege of
Madrid, November 1936, pp. 24-26
- Blitzkrieg, pp. 232-234
- Sir Henry Pownall, Collapse of the Franco-British-Belgian
Armies in Belgium, May 1940, pp. 26-28
- The End of the Warsaw Ghetto, January 1943, pp. 37-39
- Edward Shils and Morris Janowitz, Undermining German
Morale, pp. 143-144
- B.H. Liddell Hart, The Indirect Approach, pp. 231-232
- Stephen Ambrose, The Secrets of Overlord, pp. 272-280
- Christopher Thorne, The Image of the Japanese, pp. 280285
- The Trial of Adolf Eichmann, pp. 174-177
From Freedman, War
- Giulio Douhet, Command of the Air, pp. 228-231
- Tom Harrison, Living Through the Blitz, 1940, pp. 28-31
- Miles Tripp, Bombing Duisburg, October 1944, pp. 39-40
- David MacIssac, Evolution of Airpower, pp. 288-291
From Freedman, War
- A Doctor at Nagasaki, August 1945, pp. 41- 43
- The Strategy of Conflict, pp. 203-206
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March 19
Revolutionary
Warfare II
March 26
Pacifism
April 2
Asymmetric Warfare
- Soviet Strategy, pp. 235-238
- US Objectives with Respect to Russia, pp. 291-297
- President Kennedy and the Cuban Crisis, October 1962, pp.
45-51
- A Strategy of Deterrence, pp. 238-240
- The Threat that Leaves Something to Chance, pp. 241-244
- Massed Armed Force in Decline, pp. 130-132
- Responsibilities of Defence Scientists, pp. 177-180
- Nuclear Weapons: More May Be Better, 354-355
From Freedman, War
- V. I. Lenin, Socialism and War, pp. 95-99
- W. V. O’Brien, Just-War Doctrine and Revolutionary War,
pp. 180-181
- Mao ZeDong, Mao’s Military Principles, pp. 320-323
- Walter Laqueur, The Character of Guerilla Warfare, pp.
323-330
- Robert Osgood, Limited War and Korea, pp. 336-341
- Pacification and Attrition in Vietnam, pp. 341-343
- Davidson Loehr, The Fresh Kill, Vietnam 1967, pp. 51-55
- Stanley Karnow, General Giap on Dien Bien Phu and Tet,
330-333
- Paul Warnke, Vietnam and Nuremberg, 184-190
- N. Kinzer Stewart, Military Cohesion, pp. 144-149
From Freedman, War
- Barrie Paskins, Ethics of War, pp. 152-154
- Wilfred Owen, Herbert Read, Two Poems, pp. 154-156
- John Yoder, The Pacifism of Absolute Principles, pp. 156-158
- Martin Ceadal, Pacific-ism, pp. 158-159
- Hans Morgenthau, Six Principles of Political Realism, pp.
159-167
- Hedley Bull, Disarmament and the Balance of Power, pp.
297-303
- Jean Elshtain, Feminism’s War with War, pp 132-134
From Freedman, War
- Lawrence Freedmen, Weak States and the West, pp. 357363
- Micheal Doyle, Liberal States and War, pp. 105-107
- Charles C. Moskos, Armed Forces in a Warless Society, pp.
134-139
- Morris Janowitz, The Military Professional, pp. 123-127
- Artyom Borovik, A Soviet Soldier Defects, Afghanistan,
1983, pp. 59-60
- John Mearsheimer, Instability in Europe after the Cold
War, pp. 303-307
- Lawrence Freedman and Efraim Karsh, Why Bush Went
To War, pp. 167-172
- The Start of Desert Storm, January 1991, pp. 60-62
- Vanessa Vasic Janekovic, Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia, June
1992, pp. 62-64
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