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Next year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Department of War Studies by Sir Michael Howard, and provides an important opportunity to both reflect and build upon his remarkable achievements and legacy. Sir Michael Howard’s greatest contribution to the history of war was his insistence on moving beyond the battlefield in order to examine the wider political and social contexts in which wars were fought.

He also wrote about the legal, moral, and philosophical implications of war, and throughout his distinguished career sought to develop new approaches to understanding the impact of war on society. In keeping with this innovative legacy, the Sir Michael Howard Centre for the History of War invites you to join us for an exciting new seminar series for the 2021-22 academic year entitled ‘New Directions in the History of War and Violence’.

The series brings together a range of influential senior academics and promising young scholars, who will reflect on the current state of the art in the field, and also point to new and innovative ways of researching, writing, and discussing the history of war and violence. Our speakers will be reflecting on some of the big changes over the past several decades in the way we conceptualize the study of the history of war and violence. In particular, they will discuss how we can think about more global histories of war and violence that draw upon insights and methodologies from histories of culture, gender, and race.