HY226GC      Half Unit
The Great War 1914-1918 (Spring Semester)

This information is for the 2020/21 session.

Teacher responsible

Professor David Stevenson, Sardinia House 3.11

Availability

This course is available to General Course ‘Spring Semester’ students.

Course content

The international and comparative history of the First World War. The military, diplomatic, political, economic, social, and cultural aspects of the conflict will all receive attention. The origins and outbreak of the war; the military campaigning on the Western, Eastern, Italian, and extra-European Fronts; the war at sea and in the air; the intervention of neutral powers, war aims and attempts to negotiate peace; domestic politics in the belligerents; the war's economic and social effects; the experience of combat; the Russian Revolution and the road to the Armistice; the impact of the war on the international system and on individual and collective consciousness.

General Course Spring Semester students will concentrate on the second half of the war

Teaching

Students will engage with lecture content through recorded lectures and external content, as well as through live Q&A sessions.There will be a reading week in the Lent term.

Formative coursework

General Course Spring Semester students will be required to write one essay of 2500 words in the LT.

Indicative reading

C. Clark, The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 (2013); N. Ferguson, The Pity of War (1998); A. Watson, Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary in World War I (2014) ); A. Millett & W. Murray (Eds), Military Effectiveness, Volume I. The First World War (1988); H. Strachan (ed), The Oxford Illustrated History of the First World War (1998); H. Strachan, The First World War: Vol. I. To Arms (2005); D. Stevenson, 1914-1918: The History of the First World War (2004); A. Kramer, Dynamic of Destruction, Culture and Mass Killing in the First World War (2007); R. Chickering, Imperial Germany and the Great War, 1914-18 (1998); J. Winter (ed), The Cambridge History of the First World War (3 vols, 2014).

Assessment

Essay (100%, 3000 words) in the ST.

Important information in response to COVID-19

Please note that during 2020/21 academic year some variation to teaching and learning activities may be required to respond to changes in public health advice and/or to account for the situation of students in attendance on campus and those studying online during the early part of the academic year. For assessment, this may involve changes to mode of delivery and/or the format or weighting of assessments. Changes will only be made if required and students will be notified about any changes to teaching or assessment plans at the earliest opportunity.

Key facts

Department: International History

Total students 2019/20: Unavailable

Average class size 2019/20: Unavailable

Capped 2019/20: No

Value: Half Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Personal development skills

  • Leadership
  • Self-management
  • Team working
  • Problem solving
  • Application of information skills
  • Communication
  • Specialist skills