Unit information: Combat Motivation: Why Do Soldiers Fight? (Level H Reflective History) in 2013/14

Unit name	Combat Motivation: Why Do Soldiers Fight? (Level H Reflective History)
Unit code	HIST38008
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Professor. McLellan
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None.
Co-requisites	None.
School/department	Department of History (Historical Studies)
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit takes as its starting point, Joanne Bourke's recent book An Intimate History of Killing. Bourke claims that soldiers fight because of a visceral enjoyment of face-to-face combat. This is certainly one explanation for the soldier's decision to remain in the front line. But other factors play a role too: training, fear, ideology, and the importance of 'primary groups'. Students will be encouraged to reflect upon the similarities and differences between various groups of soldiers: conscripts, volunteer armies, mercenaries, and so on. What are the differences between male and female soldiers? How can we explain the phenomena of desertion and trauma? And what about the involvement of soldiers in mass killing of civilians - do such perpetrators have a distinctive motivation for their actions? And what, if anything, distinguishes historical contributions to these debates from those written by psychologists, military analysts, journalists, and the soldiers themselves?

Aims:

Reflective history is identified in the Subject Benchmarking Statement as an important skill. Whilst students will reflect on their work in all of their units the aim of this unit will be to focus on that reflective practice and to enable students to carry it forward in conjunction with a particular historical subject matter which will fit in with their overall portfolio of subject/period/theme-based units.

Intended Learning Outcomes

• Students will have a heightened understanding of the particular and unique skills that historians acquire and of the way in which they apply those skills to a specific task

• Students will be able to convey that understanding to others both in writing and through a shared group exploration

• Students will have a deeper understanding of their own individual acquisition and application of those skills. They will be aware of their own particular combination of skills and they will have a clearer understanding of the areas where skills need to be improved.

• Students will have a stronger awareness of how their skills might be applied more generally to other contexts

• At the same time, and as part of the same process, they will have gained a deeper knowledge of the history of combat motivation

Teaching Information

• Initial 1 hour introductory seminar, then fortnightly 2 hour seminars for 5 weeks.

• Guided independent reading directed towards presentation of material to their group

• Access to tutorial consultation with unit tutor in office hours

Assessment Information

1 x 24 hour seen exam

Reading and References

• Special edition of the Journal of Contemporary History on combat motivation, April 2006.

• Joanna Bourke, An Intimate History of Killing (1999)

• Christopher Browning, Ordinary Men (1992)

• Richard Holmes, Acts of War: The Behaviour of Men in Battle (2000)

• John Keegan, The Face of Battle (1983)

• SLA Marshall, Men Against Fire (1947)