War, Society, and Culture

Richard Fogarty, University at Albany, SUNY

This course will take as its starting point and touchstone the following observation by Michael Howard:

But to abstract war from the environment in which it is fought and study its technique as one would those of a game is to ignore a dimension essential to understanding, not simply of the wars themselves but of the societies which fought them. The historian who studies war, not to develop norms for action but to enlarge his understanding of the past, cannot be simply a ‘military historian,’ for there is literally no branch of human activity which is not to a greater or lesser extent relevant to his subject. He has to study war not only, as Hans Delbrück put it, in the framework of political history, but in the framework economic, social and cultural history as well. War has been part of a totality of human experience, the parts of which can be understood only in relation to one another. One cannot adequately describe how wars were fought without giving some idea of what they were fought about. (War in European History, pp. ix-x)

Accordingly, we will examine war in its widest social and cultural context, treating equally the profound effects of warfare upon the societies that wage it, and the many ways that particular societies and cultures affect the nature of the wars they wage. Readings will begin by investigating the origins of war and violence among early humans, but will then focus more squarely on the modern period. We will explore the changes in warfare that have multiplied and accelerated since 1789, branching out from the conventional focus on European and Western experiences to consider developments in cultures of war across the globe. Along the way, we will pause to consider various aspects of the relationship between modern society and modern war, such as the role of women in war, the effect of gender on war, war crimes, “shell shock” (or post-traumatic stress disorder), war journalism, war and artistic expression, and other topics. By the end of the term, we will have gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of the transformative power of modern war, both on and off the battlefield.