coursemapLoading course
Strategic and Defence Studies Centre · ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
Despite the terror and destruction that it brings, warfare has been an inescapable part of human history. This course will examine the changing character of warfare since the late 1700s through to the early 21st century. In doing so it will focus on the development of armed forces (land, naval and later air), introduce key theories regarding their use, examine the way that wars in the period were fought, and consider the strains that war places on the societies that fight them. This foundational 'survey course' will examine these elements by using an historical approach and make use of following key themes: the nature and character of war; the interplay of politics, strategy, operations and tactics; resourcing war; the relationship between technology and war; and military adaptation.
Tutorial participation and reading journal (5% participation, 5% reading journal)
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 5, 6
Tutorial presentation and critical synthesis of allotted reading
Learning outcomes 3, 5, 6
Research essay (2500 words)
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Exam
Learning outcomes 2, 4, 5, 6
This course comprises some 130 hours of activity over 12 weeks, including some 24 hours of lectures or an equivalent activity and some 12 hours of tutorials or equivalent activity. The course comprises a maximum of 6k words of assessment or the equivalent. Please note this is a general guide, averaged over the semester and the final hours ultimately depend on the individual's ability in reading and writing.
TBA Preliminary Reading C. Archer et. al., World History of Warfare, University of Nebraska Press, 2002 R. Chickering & S. Forster, Great War, Total War, Cambridge University Press, 2000 M. Howard, War in European History, Oxford University Press, 1976 J. Lindley-French & Y. Boyer, The Oxford Handbook of War, Oxford University Press, 2012 SCM Paine, The Wars for Asia, 1911-1949, Cambridge University Press, 2012 G. Sheffield, War Studies Reader: from the Seventeenth Century to the Present Day and Beyond, Continuum, 2010 D. Stevenson, 1914-1918: The History of the First World War, Allen Lane, 2004 H. Strachan, European Armies and the Conduct of War, Routledge, 1983 H. Strachan & S. Scheipers, The Changing Character of War, Oxford University Press, 2011 C. Townsend, The Oxford History of Modern War, Oxford University Press, 2005 G. Weinberg, A World at Arms: a Global History of World War II, Cambridge University Press, 1994