HISTORY 308 - Special Topics:War and Society in the 20th Century

Institution:

Reed College

Subject:

Description:

Full course for one semester. Each semester will cover a different specific topic within 20th-century history to examine how modern Western societies have experienced war, hot and cold, and the interrelationships between armed forces and the states and societies from which they have emerged. Questions will include: civil-military relations in a period of mass democracy and totalitarianism; the effect of advanced industrialization and technological change on war-preparation and war-fighting; the role of institutions, values, and ideologies in civilian and military policy-making; and how far one can speak of the militarization of modern society. Conference. Not offered 2009-10. The Vietnam War An examination of different aspects of "America's longest war": its historical and diplomatic background; its connection to the Cold War and to indigenous political and social factors in southeast Asia; the battlefield experience for Americans and Vietnamese; the course and dynamics of American policy-making; and the traumatic interaction between the war and American society and politicsThe First World War An examination of World War I in Europe and the United States as the first experience of "total war": how major societies dealt with modern industrialized warfare and war economies, the militarization of mass society, civil-military relations, and the cultural climate of modern warfare.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.reed.edu

Phone Number:

(503) 771-1112

Regional Accreditation:

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Calendar System:

Semester

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