Undergraduate Course: War, Trauma and Survival: from Antiquity to the Present (ANHI10103)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This module will analyse episodes of war trauma and response from the institutions, covering events from antiquity (Classical Greece, Republican and Imperial Rome) as well as modern and contemporary conflicts (the American civil war and the conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan). In addition to the analysis of primary sources on the events, students will become familiar with the most recent scholarship on the history of civil war and trauma. |
| Course description |
Through a focus on a selected series of case studies, this module will analyse episodes of war trauma and response from the institutions, covering events from antiquity (Classical Greece, Republican and Imperial Rome) as well as modern and contemporary conflicts (the American civil war and the conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan). The focus on ancient, modern and contemporary conflicts will promote an inclusive discourse between Classics and the current warfare and refugee crises.
In addition to the analysis of primary sources on the events, students will become familiar with the most recent scholarship on the history of civil war and trauma, and will develop skills to analyse the events from a historical, literary and comparative perspective. A particular focus will be given to the ways in which victims and perpetrators are portrayed in the evidence discussed and how the 'rhetoric of the winners' can be challenged and re-written with a focus on the victims and their sufferings. Through oral presentations (in-seminar activities) and written assessment, students will develop presentation skills, critical skills to analyse texts and material culture, advanced comparative skills.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Classics, History or Archaeology at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. It would be beneficial for visiting students if they have taken a Greek and/or Roman history introductory class.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- understand, evaluate, analyse and reflect critically upon primary source material and relevant scholarship on the subject of war and war trauma from antiquity to the present.
- understand and apply specialised research and professional skills, techniques and practices to the variety of primary source materials considered in the course.
- handle and analyse a wide range of different sources with sophistication and to assess different methodologies and approaches to historical and literary analysis (e.g. trauma studies, memory studies, leadership theory).
- discuss, analyse and compare events and their social impact from different periods.
- apply originality and independence of mind and initiative as well as intellectual integrity and maturity.
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Reading List
Alexander, J.C., Eyerman, R., Giesen, B., Smelser, N.J. & Sztompka, P. Cultural Trauma and Collective Identity. University of California Press. 2004.
Alexander, Jeffrey C. Trauma: a Social Theory. Cambridge: Polity, 2012.
Armitage, David. Civil Wars: A History in Ideas. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2017.
Davis, Colin, and Hanna Meretoja (eds.). The Routledge Companion to Literature and Trauma. Abingdon, Oxon: Taylor & Francis, 2020. Web.
Gray, B. D. Stasis and Stability: Exile, the Polis, and Political Thought, c. 404-146 BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.
Hunt, Nigel C. Memory, War and Trauma. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Mason, Steve. A History of the Jewish War: A.D. 66-74. New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Print.
Pina Polo, Francisco (ed.). The Triumviral Period: Civil War, Political Crisis and Socioeconomic Transformations Sevilla, España: Editorial Universidad de Sevilla, 2020.
Rabinovich, Itamar et al. Syrian Requiem: The Civil War and Its Aftermath. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2021.
Talley, Sharon. Southern Women Novelists and the Civil War: Trauma and Collective Memory in the American Literary Tradition Since 1861. Knoxville, Tennessee: The University of Tennessee Press, 2014. Print.
www.trojanwomenproject.org
Wolpert, Andrew. Remembering Defeat Civil War and Civic Memory in Ancient Athens. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Researching and using evidence: collect, evaluate, and use the best available evidence to analyse and critically comment on historical events from antiquity to the present; use information and knowledge effectively in order to extract meaning from information and to share knowledge across fields, including the use of quantitative skills; have an understanding of contextually relevant ethics and values;
Summarising, interpreting and critiquing: summarise, interpret and critique the work of others by competent use of major theoretical perspectives and concepts in the academic study of war, individual and collective trauma;
Communication: communicate and persuade -- both orally and in writing; articulate and effectively explain information; be sensitive to and understand the diversity in people and different situations, including online; have the ability to produce clear, structured written work;
Personal and intellectual autonomy: be critically self-aware, self-reflective and self-manage in order to fully maximise potential; developing higher-order thinking and sound reasoning. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Consuelo Martino
Tel:
Email: Consuelo.Martino@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Lauren Smith
Tel:
Email: Lauren.N.Smith@ed.ac.uk |
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