HIS-261 War and Society in the Age of Total War: World Wars I and II

This course focuses on the era of global conflict between 1870 and 1945, from the Franco-Prussian War, the trenches of the 1914-18 Western Front and the beaches of WWII Normandy and Iwo Jima, to the Holocaust, the birth of the atomic age and the dawn of the Cold War. The First and Second World Wars were history's first modern, industrial, technological, multidimensional, total and global conflicts, whose legacy continues to shape the world today. Of particular interest will be the crucial interaction between war and society: how societies give form and substance to modern conflict and how wars, in turn, spark dramatic social, political and economic change. This course carries SUNY General Education credit in World History and Global Awareness.

Credits

3

Prerequisite

ENG-101 or Permission of Instructor

Lecture Contact Hours

3

Lab Contact Hours

0

Other Contact Hours

0

Department

• Social Science

Grading Scheme

• Letter

SUNY Gen Ed Credit

• Yes

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Explain of the ways in which World Wars I and II reflect the distinctive features of Western civilization; its history, institutions, geography, economy, religions, society, and/or culture.
2. Connect developments in the West during WWI and WWII to that of other regions of the world.
3. Analyze some of the major events and themes of the Western and/or global experience during WWI and WWII.