The Great War
A century ago, a war that contemporaries almost immediately dubbed the “Great War” roared across Europe and the world. The war—arguable the first total war—marked the defining moment of the twentieth century. Tens of millions of men were mobilized to fight in the bloodiest conflict the world had seen; millions of those died, were wounded, or taken prisoners; untold numbers suffered the lasting physical and psychic traumas of a brutal and brutalizing experience. Great swathes of land in France and Belgium were laid waste. Images of the conflict—the lunar landscape of No Man’s Land, seemingly endless tangled coils of rusting barbed wire, spectral figures of goggle-eyed soldiers in gasmasks, and muddy, rat-infested trenches—haunted the memories of those who had lived through it. But the war affected not just those who engaged in battle, but also those who stayed at home: women, children, the old and the infirm. In this history course, we will examine the Great War, not just through a study of military operations, but also through an examination of the social, artistic, literary and political responses to the conflict.
Department: Division of Arts and Humanities
University: Quest University Canada
Years offered: 2014-2021