History of War

The History of War strand relaces the narrow approaches of more traditionally defined military history with a broader agenda which seeks to understand conflict as part of the wider human past. The changing character of war has contributed to this, shifting attention away from the previous preoccupation with conventional wars between states, to see how armed struggles have been waged by a variety of different actors with hugely varying impacts on society, economy, culture and environment, as well as differing political implications. You will be provided with a structured intellectual environment and academic framework to study war across the sweep of human history.

The core Historical Methods classes will explore of the organisation, conduct, impact, and broader context of warfare from the ancient world to the present day.  You will be encouraged to recognise how war in human history can only be fully understood when a study of the more ‘technical’ aspects are combined with a fuller appreciation of the broader historical context of past conflicts, and explore the relationship between war’s changing character and wider historical change. Other key topics include warfare in contemporary memory, cultural perceptions of war, warfare and gender, ethics and genocide, war and empire, supply and logistics, war and ideology, combat, and mobilisation.

In the Skills component of the course, you are encouraged to take advantage of opportunities to improve your knowledge of languages, to attend library information sessions, and also training sessions run by the Oxford University Computing Services on text analysis software, GIS, or statistical packages.

Option courses particularly relevant to the history of war typically include:

The study of the History of War at Oxford is characterised by temporal and spatial breadth, as well as the multiplicity of approaches to understanding past conflicts.  Chronologically, current research ranges from ancient world to the late twentieth century, with particular strengths in early modernity and the period after the mid-nineteenth century.  The main areas for the middle ages are Byzantine and crusader warfare. Geographically, Europe is the primary field with particular strengths for German, French, Belgian, Spanish, British and Irish history.  Warfare in early twentieth-century China and India are also major fields, as well as nomadic warfare, and colonial and post-colonial conflicts especially those in New Zealand, Africa and the Middle East.  Important thematic interests include mobilising resources for war, military institutions, naval warfare, military-civil relations, war and gender, war and humanitarianism, disease, imperialism and war.  The history of war is connected to other historical fields and to other disciplines through the research of many scholars who study the wider impact of conflict, as well as how war and violence are perceived and remembered. Particular areas of interest include the environmental impact of twentieth-century conflict, war and ideas of nation-building, and the relationship between the changing character of war and scientific and technological development.  The majority of staff pursuing this research are based in the Faculty of History, including the related Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine.  Others are in the Department for Continuing Education and the Department for International Development.  There are strong collaborative links through TORCH, notably the Globalising and Localising the First World War project, as well as with the Changing Character of War programme based in Pembroke College.