"War Study" Topic

"America has entered its twentieth year of war against terrorism. Although newspapers no longer give front-page coverage to troops in conflict, and photographs of flag-draped caskets flown from overseas combat posts have faded from nightly news broadcasts, the soldiers continue their fight on at least two continents, maybe more. Preparation for the next encounter, the next episode in the global war against terrorism, has become institutionalized; troops are recruited, trained and deployed continuously, amidst uncertainty over what they are expecting to find or how they might resolve the problem, should it occur. The end of this war is not yet in sight.

That we cannot agree on answers to fundamental questions about war—whether we fight for reasons of religion or rage, plunder or pride—seems appropriate. Justifications for having fought the war in Iraq are just as confusing post hoc as the explanations for launching the invasion were seventeen years ago. Still more perplexing is the debate over whether these issues should even be studied in academia. In her excellent new book War: How Conflict Shaped Us (Random House, 2020), author Margaret MacMillan relates a story from early in her teaching career, recalling the dismayed look of an educational consultant when she told him she was drawing up plans for a course titled "War and Society." "It would be better," he urged, "to use the title ‘A History of Peace.'" Whether for reasons of fear or ignorance, we do not take the study of war as seriously as it deserves…"
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