The Great War. The Conflict that Changed the World

In August 1914, millions of men were mobilised as European nations declared war on one another. As most of these nations were imperial powers, their colonies were also drawn into the conflict. How could Senegalese, Australians, Indians and South Africans find themselves fighting Germans or Ottomans they had previously limited to no contact with? How could European populations consent to total warfare for so long and at such huge costs? Millions of the men who marched to the battle fronts in 1914 later died as a result of a type of industrial warfare few had foreseen. And for what? This course focuses on the global dimension of the First World War. Drawing from up-to-date transnational and comparative historiography, the course provides an understanding of a war that, in many ways, shaped the 20th century. It provides an opportunity to approach new ways of thinking about the conflict, outside of the national framework. The course provides students with an understanding of the origins of the First World War, back to mid-19th century Europe and the rise of nationalisms right through its consequences and its long-lasting effects on the 20th century. Taking students through the conflict, a wide array of topics will be explored such as trench combat, violence, shell shock, home-fronts, arts, reconstruction and commemoration.