Europe in the Age of Total War (351-0-20)

Instructors

Robin Duffin Bates
847/467-4839
Harris 242

Meeting Info

University Hall 121: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

The outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 created modern politics and thereby brought forth a new form of war: a total social mobilization on a previously unimaginable scale fought by mass armies of ordinary citizens in the name of the nation, its glory, and its survival. We will trace the social, political, and ethical implications of total war through the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, World War I and World War II, comparing these to the colonial wars of imperial conquest European states simultaneously pursued as extensions of the political claims of the nation on a global scale - wars whose practices in turn changed and intensified the conduct, scale, and human consequences of war in Europe itself.

Learning Objectives

1) Understand and interpret the historical events, ideas, and actors crucial to the development of modern European warfare, including its political, cultural, and ethical implications.
2) Assess competing explanations of the historical transformation of warfare both in historical primary sources and in the scholarly literature, showing an awareness of how evidence supports claims, how analytic categories structure arguments, and how historical context shapes the meaning of statements.
3) Develop original arguments about the historical development and human consequences of warfare, based on your independent interpretation of sources.

Evaluation Method

Class Participation: 30% of your final grade;
Essay Assignment: 40%,
Final Exam: 30%

Class Notes

History Major Concentration(s): European
History Minor Concentration(s): Europe

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Ethical and Evaluative Thinking Foundational Disci
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity
SoC Individual and Social Behavior Distro

Associated Classes

DIS - Harris Hall L05: Fri 9:00AM - 9:50AM

DIS - University Hall 312: Fri 10:00AM - 10:50AM

DIS - University Hall 101: Fri 1:00PM - 1:50PM