Handbook

This course will introduce students to key concepts surrounding the ways in which wars are represented, and hence how war comes to be known about in the social and cultural domains.

Our key question, then, is how do we know about war? What are the ways that war is reported, analysed, mediated, commemorated, and spectacularised? Such questions about the representation of war have received attention from a range of disciplines because they are central to our understanding of war’s relationship to society. Can wars be waged without public visibility and hence public support? This course will introduce students to some foundational questions about war and its representation. Texts studied may range from literature, art, and commemorative practices that shape the ‘human face of war’, to propaganda, journalism, and social media, and on to broader considerations about war as a cultural event that is always at some level determined by beliefs, perceptions, and memories of war.

With its emphasis on critical reading and writing skills, this course is ideally suited to supplement the pleasure and success you can gain from the other offerings in the Masters Programs.