HST 370: Foundations of Military History and Strategy I

This course examines the relationship between the three pillars of military activity—people and systems, institutions and processes, and religious and intellectual traditions—in western history, from classical antiquity through the early Middle Ages. The course examines the perennial causes of war, the relationship between political and military institutions, strategy, and the tendency of warfare to test and expose the first principles of a community. Throughout, students examine the idea of a specifically “western way of war.”  As an introduction to military history, the course provides a foundational knowledge of military history in the pre-modern world, the role of military action in shaping western history, and those perennial themes that remain central to the study of war up to the present day. Required for the minor in Military History and Strategy.