MA War, Culture and Society

What is the human experience – and cost – of war? Looking beyond the dates and battlefield details of typical military history, this MA raises urgent questions about why societies go to war. You will engage with diverse perspectives on violence and conflict in the modern period, and examine case studies from all over the world.

Drawing on our expertise across a variety of disciplines, including history, literature, law, sociology and psychoanalytic studies, you will consider the effects of war on different scales, from the individual to the global, and on different groups. Some of the key questions we will consider include:

• What did it mean to be a woman in the First World War – as a worker, grieving mother, or a combatant?
• How does psychological trauma and physical disability impact on veterans today?
• How is wartime service remembered and commemorated, privately and politically?
• Why are some groups excluded from popular representations of war – and how does the picture change once they are included?

In our Department of History you are taught by award-winning academics from all over the world: our corridors are truly cosmopolitan. We also provide you with opportunities to explore local history and have close ties with the Essex Record Office, one of the best county record offices in the UK.