War and Society
GOVT 303
Fall 2022
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01
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While most societies condemn physical violence between individuals, they condone and encourage collectively organized violence in the form of warfare. War is obscene, yet all modern societies have engaged in warfare. This course will examine war as a social, political, and historical phenomenon. We will look at the way in which wars have led to the consolidation of political power and the acceleration of social change, as well as the relationship between military service and the concept of citizenship. The course also examines the crucial role played by technology in the interaction between war and society. Films and novels will be examined to test to what extent these literary works accurately reflect, or obscure, the political, social, and technological logic driving the evolution of war. Our examples will include warfare in premodern society, the gunpowder revolution in early modern Europe and Japan, the American Civil War, colonial wars, World War I, World War II, Vietnam, and Iraq. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS GOVT |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (GOVT)(GOVT-Comparativ)(GOVT-Intl.)(HRAD-MN) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Less than 50% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Barbara Ehrenreich -Blood Rites: Origins and history of the Passions of Way; Robert L. O'Connell - Of Arms and Men; Charles Tilly - Coercion, Capital and European States; John Ellis - The Social History of the Machine Gun
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Examinations and Assignments:
Three papers |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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| Instructor(s): Rutland,Peter Times: .M.W... 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: OLIN327B; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 19 | | SR major: 5 | JR major: 5 | | |
| Seats Available: 0 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 3 | SO: 3 | FR: 0 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 7 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 2 | 3rd Ranked: 1 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 4 |
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