War in World History I

Warfare remains a vital issue for Americans to understand. This is the first of the three core course sequence, which confronts the complex topic of war and analyzes global culture during antiquity until AD 500. Several key issues frame our study: what makes war so alluring, what causes wars, how are they fought, and does the concept of a Western Way of War exist, and if so, how does it differ from non-Western cultures? In addition, we explore the importance of war in shaping human affairs as well as the motivation of each culture’s combatants.