The Great War’s Battlefields: A Study Tour of Gallipoli, the Western Front and Paris

War alters individuals and landscapes. It is a central element in national identity, memory and memorialisation. This course centres on a 18-day intensive study tour retracing the First World War with a focus on Australia’s war in 1915-1919 across Gallipoli and the Western Front. Students will reconstruct several major battles of World War I in the places they were fought, examine the ways diverse interests claim a place in a commemorated landscape, assess the making of memorials by different belligerent nations, and consider both the campaigns and the experiences of war behind the lines, in particular the interaction of troops and nurses with the civilian population. Throughout the course, a series of onsite presentations and workshops will introduce students to the nature of war on the Gallipoli Peninsula and along the Western Front, stimulating reflection on issues ranging from the making of the Anzac Legend, the experience of overseas travel, the changing nature of battle, pilgrimage, cultural tourism, the making of commemorative landscapes, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the making of a new Europe. Students will only be permitted to travel upon completion of all ANU required documentation, including the travel form and the approval of all documentation by the relevant delegate. Disclaimer: Applicants are advised that due to circumstances beyond the University's control (for example, specific international security concerns and international health crises) it may not be possible for students to commence or complete this course as advertised.