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A History of War
UndergraduateGRF-HSY3152025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
Scour the history books to see how war is narrated and what it says about recording history. Delve into the ethical questions about war. Pursue a greater understanding of how it has shaped our world. Be on the lookout for war analysis’ recurring themes.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 6 July 2025
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 13 weeks
- Price from
- $2,124
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
A History of War
About this subject
At the completion of this subject you will be able to:
- identify central themes in the history of war;
- understand the place of war in world historical context;
- recognise and compare the different ways in which war is narrated historically;
- employ analytical thinking skills and reflect critically and ethically on the above issues;
- apply ways of thinking about war to thinking about world history;
- employ analytical thinking skills and reflect critically and ethically on the above issues;
- analyse, evaluate and synthesise a range of historical images and texts;
- develop sustained, logical and informed arguments;
- appreciate and evaluate the variety of approaches to the history of war;
- draw on a knowledge of ideas and texts to understand the complexities and dynamics of war throughout human history.
- The Body in War
- Heroism and Atrocity
- Pax Imperatoria? Conquest, Empires, and Order
- The 'Just War’ Tradition and the Ethics of War
- Empire and Colonial War in the 18th and 19th Centuries
- War Since 1945
For millennia humans have waged war and come to understand themselves and others through the experience of war. This subject explores the different ways that we can understand what war means – how it has changed across time, what are the rights and wrongs of war, who are its victims, and how it has shaped the modern world. Understanding this history enables us to think more clearly about how war has shaped the modern world, and how the changing nature of war remains central to humanity's hopes for the future.
- Short Essay (30%)
- Long Essay (50%)
- Online Content Modules (20%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
With a network of campuses spanning three cities in South East Queensland, Griffith University is committed to progressive multidisciplinary teaching and research and a valuable online provider with Open Universities Australia. Already attracting students from over one hundred countries, Griffith's dedication to academic excellence is available across Australia through OUA.
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- QS Ranking 2024:
- 18
- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
- 20
Entry requirements
Others
Note: Level 3 subjects normally assume a moderate level of prior knowledge in this area, eg from studying related Level 1 and 2 subjects or other relevant experience.
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
UndergraduateGRF-ART-DEG
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