History 304 A

History 304 A: Warfare Ancient and Modern
Dr. John Lewis

Fall, 2004
Office: 113 Andrews. Phone: 289-5346

This course will delve into the intense, brutal and fascinating subject of warfare. Although the methods of warfare have changed drastically over history, from clubs and rocks to cruise missiles and satellite-guided bombs, the motivations for warfare show a distinct continuity. This course will be centrally concerned with the causes of war: ideological, psychological, and material.

The course will focus on engagements within four major conflicts: the Theban Wars with Sparta, the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage, the American Civil War, and the prelude to the Second World War. This course will read a contemporary account of each conflict, as well as a modern interpretation. By adopting this format will be able to compare ancient and modern perspectives on these conflicts, and to develop our own interpretation of events. We will also read several theoretical essays associated with warfare, including Thucydides’ classic accounts of the destruction of Melos, the Civil War in Corcyra, Rand’s account of statism as the root of war, and Schwatrz’s treatise on rational self-interest as the only moral basis for war. The course will include a discussion of American foreign policy.

Two short writing assignments: each to deal with a specific aspect of war studies.

One Research Paper: write a research paper, approximately 4500 words (fifteen double-spaced pages), on a topic selected from one of the following categories. Use one or more primary texts (or photos) as your central historical source(s); use secondary readings to support your interpretation of the primary source(s). The paper must have a clear theme, a clearly stated direction of approach, and must be clear in its use of the primary sources.

Grading: Two Writing assignments: 10% each
Research Paper: 30%

Midterm Exam: 20%

Final Exam: 30%

Extra Credit: Up to 5 points on final grade: Write a book review, 1000 words, on the draft of Nothing Less than Victory. Don’t tell me what it is about; evaluate it. Is it true?

Primary readings:

Thucydides The History of the Peloponnesian War selections

Diodorus Sikulus, Book 15, on the Theban Wars (handout)

Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire, on the Second Punic War

Livy, The War with Hannibal, on the Second Punic War (handout)

William T. Sherman, From Atlanta to the Sea, ch.6, on the American Civil War (handout)

Benjamin Netanyahu, 3 Speeches, including: Statement of Former Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu before the Government Reform Committee, Sep. 20, 2001

Usama Bin Laden Second Declaration of War, Nov. 23, 1996

Wilson's 14 Points, The Charter of the League of Nations, Treaty of Rapallo (linked from my web site)

Congressman John Ashbrook, Extraneous comments in the Congressional Record, Aug. 16, 1967: Rand Nature of Government and Man’s Rights.

Secondary Readings:

D. Kagan, On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace

A. Rand, “The Roots of War” in Capitalism the Unknown Ideal

P. Schwartz, The Foreign Policy of Self-Interest: A Moral Ideal for America

J. Lewis, Nothing Less than Victory: Military Offense and the Lessons of History (Draft version)

Suggested Secondary Reading: V. D. Hanson, The Soul of Battle (on Thebes and the American Civil War)

Class Schedule

Week 1 (Week of 8/30): Origins, Causes, and Motivations. Freedom and Statism.

Approaches to Military Studies.

Read: Rand, “Roots of War”

Schwartz, Moral Policy

Week 2 (Week of 9/6): The Peloponnesian War

Read: Thucydides, 5.84-116 (The Melian Dialogue); (The Corcyran Stasis)

Schwartz, Rand

Week 3 (Week of 9/13): The Peloponnesian War

Read: Thucydides Book 1

Lewis, Introduction and Ch. 1

Kagan, Ch. 1

Week 4 (Week of 9/20): The Theban Wars

Read: Diodorus (Handout)

First Writing Assignment Due Tuesday 9/21: Write a paper, 800 – 1000 words, describing how the concept of statism can be used to interpret the Melian Dialogue of Thucydides and / or the Corcyran Stasis.

Week 5 (Week of 9/27): The Theban Wars
Read: Diodorus (handout)

Week 6 (Week of 10/4): The Theban Wars
Read: Lewis, ch. 2

Week 7 (Week of 10/11): The Second Punic War

Read: Polybius, book 3

Livy The War with Hannibal (Handout)

Week 8 (Week of 10/18): The Second Punic War

Read: Polybius ch. 6

Midterm Exam

Second Writing Assignment Due Tuesday Due Tuesday, 10/19: Write a paper, 800 – 1000 words, describing why an offensive attack on Africa was necessary—or was it? Consider Carthaginian and Roman motivations.

Week 9 (Week of 10/25): The Second Punic War: The Roman Constitution and Military

Read: Lewis ch. 3
Kagan Ch. 2

Week 10 (Week of 11/1): The American Civil War

Read: Sherman From Atlanta to the Sea

Week 11 (Week of 11/8): The American Civil War
Read: Lewis ch. 5

Week 12 (Week of 11/15): The Prelude to the Second World War
Read: Pre-WWII documents (Wilson, Rapallo, etc.)

Kagan ch. 4 The Second World War

Week 13 (Week of 11/22): The Prelude to the Second World War

Read: Lewis ch. 6

Rand “The Anatomy of Compromise”

Thanksgiving Break

Week 14 (Week of 11/29): War and Terrorism

Read: Benjamin Netanyahu, Statement of September 20, 2001

Usama Bin Laden Second Declaration of War, November 23, 1996

Schwartz, Foreign Policy

Week 15 (Week of 12/6): War and Terrorism
Read: Rand, The Nature of Government, and Man’s Rights, (Congressional Record handout)

Week 16 (Week of 12/13): Final Exam

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Handouts for History 304c: These handouts are associated with appropriate sections of the syllabus for History 304c, Warfare Ancient and Modern.

1. Greek Chronology

2. Roman Chronology

3. Study Questions for: Diodorus on the Boiotian War; Polybius on the Second Punic War; Kagan on the Causes of the Second World War

4. Documents:

            Wilson's 14 Points
            The Charter of the League of Nations
            The Treaty of Rapallo
            Bin Laden's Declaration of War

Netanyahu's Statement of 9/20/2001

Paper Topics and Study Questions: Select one of the following, and write a first class paper addressing the questions or the issue at stake.

1. What is the proper motivation to fight a war? What is the argument for self-interest as the only basis for war? Should a war be fought for altruistic reasons?

2. What is statism? Why does Rand consider this to be the real root of war? What role did statism play in one or more of the conflicts we studied?

3. Distinguish final causation from efficient causation in warfare. How does a focus on Freedom (the "Freedom Premise") motivate an army to attain worthwhile a goal, and how does this contrast with the motivations inherent in a "Duty Premise?"

4. How does the moral certainty of one’s cause contribute to the willingness to undergo extreme hardship to attain one’s goals? How can this certainty be manifested in acts of aggression and in acts of defense (that may include a strong offense)?

5. What is a “compromise”? Discuss the nature of appeasement as compromise, and apply this to one or more of the conflicts we have studied.

6. Discuss the claim that, in fighting a hostile people, it is necessary to break the will of the enemy population to continue the fight.

7. Evaluate America’s efforts in the war on terrorism, with specific reference to the Freedom versus Duty premises. Has the present failure to destroy the top echelons of Al Quaeda left the essential motivations of terrorist cells intact? How does this relate to Netanyahu’s central argument.

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This page updated 01/28/06 Dr. John Lewis classicalideals@yahoo.com