Wars of the 20th Century

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course examines how warfare transformed across the twentieth century, with a particular focus on the growing involvement of civilian populations, both as participants and as targets. Rather than a traditional battle history course, it approaches war through a wide range of sources, especially written documents and visual material, to understand conflict from the inside and from perspectives often overlooked in standard curricula. Students analyze war through themes such as the technical evolution of weaponry, the medical reality of war injuries, and the everyday experience of societies living through conflict. The course follows a three-part chronological structure: conflicts up to 1945, the period from 1945 to 1991, and wars since 1991. Case studies include World War I and the home front, the Spanish Civil War, World War II as a war against civilians, decolonization conflicts, Vietnam, Afghanistan, the Gulf War, the wars in the former Yugoslavia, and post Cold War conflicts including in sub-Saharan Africa. The course also emphasizes discussion and student-led presentations as part of the learning process.