EH450 Half Unit
Topics in the Economic History of War in Europe
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Prof Max-Stephan Schulze
Availability
This course is available on the MSc in Economic History, MSc in Economic History (Research), MSc in Financial History, MSc in Global Economic History and MSc in Political Economy of Late Development. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
How to apply: All Economic History courses are controlled access and capped. Priority will be given to students for whom the course is within their programme regulations.
All course choices submitted before the deadline will be considered. It is advisable that students submit a statement in support of their course choices as these will be used to allocate places where a course is oversubscribed.
Deadline for application: First round offers will be sent on Monday 29 September 2025. Students who submit their course choices after the deadline and students wishing to take an Economic History course as an outside option will be waitlisted initially and informed by Wednesday 1 October 2025 whether they have been successful.
Once an offer has been sent, you have 48 hours to accept it before it times out. Once an offer has timed out, it will be re-allocated to someone on the waitlist. In all cases, it is strongly advised that you have an alternative course choice as a back-up in case you are unable to secure your first choice.
For queries contact: If you have any questions, please contact the MSc Programmes Officer (o.harrison1@lse.ac.uk) A list of all taught master's courses in this Department are listed on LSE's course guide webpages.
Guidance on how to apply to individual controlled access courses can also be found on LSE for You.
This course is available on the MSc in Economic History, MSc in Economic History (Research), MSc Financial History, MSc Global Economic History, and MSc in Political Economy of Late Development.
This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.
Course content
This course explores major themes in the economic history of war from the 16th to the 20th century within a comparative framework. Key issues examined include the relationship between war and state formation; resource mobilisation - finance, material inputs, human capital; resource allocation - production and consumption; human and economic consequences of war. The historical cases considered include the Thirty Years War, the European wars of the 18th century, the Napoleonic Wars, the First and Second World Wars.
Teaching
20 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.
20 hours of seminars in the WT. The course will be taught as 10 two-hours seminar in WT.
Formative assessment
Students are expected to complete one essay or equivalent during the term.
Indicative reading
S. Broadberry & M. Harrison (eds), The Economics of World War I (2005).
J. Brewer, The Sinews of Power: War, Money and the English State, 1688-1789 (1989).
R. Chickering & S. Foerster (eds), Great War, Total War (2000).
J. Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (1997).
J.R. Hale, War and Society in Renaissance Europe, 1450-1620 (1998).
G. Hardach, The First World War, 1914-18 (1977).
M. Harrison (ed) The Economics of World War II (2000).
A.S. Milward, War, Economy and Society 1939-45 (1987).
A. Offer, The First World War. An Agrarian interpretation (1989).
K. O'Rourke, 'The worldwide economic impact of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1793-1815', Journal of Global History
Assessment
Exam (100%), duration: 120 Minutes in the Spring exam period
Key facts
Department: Economic History
Course Study Period: Winter Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
Keywords: Economic History, War
Total students 2024/25: Unavailable
Average class size 2024/25: Unavailable
Controlled access 2024/25: NoCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Team working
- Problem solving
- Application of information skills
- Communication
- Application of numeracy skills
- Specialist skills