LHIST6222 The History of War: The World Wars Course Descriptor

Course Overview

Provide students with an understanding of developments in the history of war up to and including World War II. The course applies a wider understanding of the impact of war, taking in the experience of women, civilians and also introduces students to the ways in which wars have become subject of heritage and memory. 

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

Subject Specific Skills

Transferable and Employability Skills

Teaching and Learning

This course has a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) page with a syllabus and range of additional resources (e.g. readings, question prompts, tasks, assignment briefs, discussion boards) to orientate and engage students in their studies.

The scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course are:

Lectures/seminars 

40 scheduled hours – typically including induction, consolidation or revision, and assessment activity hours.

• Version 1:all sessions in the same sized group

OR 

• Version 2: most of the sessions in larger groups; some of the sessions in smaller groups

OR

Directed study 

4-12 scheduled hours, the exact number varying according to the balance of 1:1s, 2:1s, or small groups. The plan will be confirmed by the start of the course, taking into account student numbers and the proposed topics, readings, and specific tasks.

Faculty hold regular ‘office hours’, which are opportunities for students to drop in or sign up to explore ideas, raise questions, or seek targeted guidance or feedback, individually or in small groups. 

Students are to attend and participate in all the scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course and to manage their directed learning and independent study.

Indicative total learning hours for this course: 150 

Assessment

Both formative and summative assessment are used as part of this course, with purely formative opportunities typically embedded within interactive teaching sessions, office hours, and/or the VLE. 

Summative Assessments

In the written coursework students will assemble data and analyse it using understanding of the societal and cultural context. In the exam, students will answer questions utilising their understanding of the societal and cultural context.

Further information about the assessments can be found in the Course Syllabus.

Feedback

Students will receive formative and summative feedback in a variety of ways, written (e.g. marked up on assignments, through email or the VLE) or oral (e.g. as part of interactive teaching sessions or in office hours).

Indicative Reading

Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is for a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• John Keegan (1991), The Face of Battle. London: Pimlico
• Audoin-Rouzeau, S., & Becker, A. (2002). 1914-1918: Understanding the Great War. London: Profile.
• Prost, A. (1992). In the Wake of War: “les ancien combattants” and French Society. Oxford: Berg.
• Winter, J. M. (2017). War beyond Words: Languages of Remembrance from the Great War to the Present. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Indicative Topics

Note: Comprehensive and current topics for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative topics provided below are used as a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• Warfare and historiography
• Warfare and society
• The embodiment of war
• War propaganda
• Women and war
• Front and society during the world wars
• Veterans
• War commemorations
• Displaying war