Warfare in History

In this module you will gain a foundation in the history of warfare from the medieval world to the present day, allowing you to understand and gain specific insights into the evolution of and ‘revolutions’ in military affairs. Within this longue durée approach, you will be equipped to question how warfare has been affected by political, economic, social, technological, and cultural factors, as well as influential military figures, thinkers, and powers. Each session will deal with a specific historical period and a theme or issue of major relevance, and the module will typically cover the following topics and themes:

• early medieval forms of warfare such as that of the Vikings;
• knights and soldiers in the High Middle Ages;
• the series of conflicts that constituted the Hundred Years’ War in the Late Middle Ages;
• the rise of the fiscal military state in the early modern period;
• the concept of a nation in arms through the Napoleonic Wars and such 19th century conflicts as the Franco-Prussian War;
• the idea of total war through the lenses of the First and Second World Wars;
• the Cold War and nuclear strategy;
• the ‘hot’ decolonisation wars of the Cold War, and more recent counterinsurgency campaigns like that in Afghanistan.