B5165 - History of Military Institutions (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will have mastered methods and content of an inherently interdisciplinary nature relating to military regulations from the early modern period to the present day. They will be able to assess the links between military history and other disciplinary approaches, in particular legal, social and economic, and to work in interdisciplinary contexts. They will be able to approach texts and data critically, to analyse different types of sources, including material culture, and to evaluate their different uses for the scholarly study of military orders. They will be able to work consciously in the production of scientific content and also to use for professional purposes (communication, teaching, dissemination, conservation) different knowledge about military orders in relation to mentalities, society, territory, evaluating the implications inherent in the different means of communication, dissemination and didactics. Finally, they will be aware of the value of communication between different disciplines and of the specific contribution of the historian in promoting a critical and scientific approach to subjects of interest in different contexts.

Course contents

The course explores the history of military institutions in the modern and contemporary ages, and their interactions with coeval political, social, economic and cultural institutions on a global scale.

Among the thematic cores that will be addressed are: the role of military institutions in the construction of the modern state and in the diffusion of that institutional model; the political-institutional, social and cultural role played by officier corps within the states and societies of reference; the different models of governance adopted by military institutions, and what political, social and cultural visions underlie them.

The monographic part will examine the Italian case between the late 18th and late 20th centuries.

 

Lesson plan (under development):

Lesson 1: Modern state and military institutions: an introduction

Lesson 2: Mercenaries, forced laborers, soldier-automata and slaves: military institutions in the modern world.

Lesson 3: The theory of military revolution: seminar discussion of selected texts

Lesson 4: Citizen-soldier versus soldier-automata? Military institutions in the age of revolutions.

Lesson 5: Military institutions of the nineteenth century.

Lesson 6: The bellicist theory of state formation: seminar discussion of selected texts

Lesson 7: Leviathan unleashed: military institutions in the age of total war.

Lesson 8: Military institutions in the multipolar world

Lesson 9: Militarism and militarization of the state: class discussion on selected texts

Lesson 10: [monographic part]

Lesson 11: [monographic part]

Lesson 12: Seminar discussion on selected texts

Lesson 13: [monographic part]

Lesson 14: [monographic part]

Lesson 15: Seminar discussion on selected texts

Readings/Bibliography

1: quadri generali. One text of your choice from the following:

Bianchi P., Del Negro P. (a cura di), Guerre ed eserciti nell'età moderna, Il Mulino, 2018.

Labanca N. (a cura di), Guerre ed eserciti nell'età contemporanea, Il Mulino, 2022.

 

2: aspetti culturali e istituzionali. One text of your choice from the following:

Beckett I., Modern Insurgencies and Counter-Insurgencies. Guerrillas and their Opponents since 1750, Routledge, 2002.

Berkovich I., Motivation in War. The Experience of Common Soldiers in Old-Regime Europe, Cambridge UP, 2017.

Glete J., War and society in early modern Europe. Spain, the Dutch Republic and Sweden as Fiscal-Military States, 1500-1660, Routledge, 2001.

Deruelle B., Drévillon H., Gainot B. (a cura di), La construction du militaire, 3, Les mots du militaire: dire et se dire militaire en Occident (XVe-XIXe siècle) de la guerre de Cent ans à l’entre-deux-guerres, Éditions de la Sorbonne, 2020.

Hacker B.C., Vining M. (a cura di), A Companion to Women's Military History, Brill, 2012.

Joas H., Knobl W., War in Social Thought: Hobbes to the Present, Princeton, 2012.

Parrott D., The business of war. Military Enterprise and Military Revolution in Early Modern Europe, Cambridge, 2012.

Pichichero C., The Military Enlightenment: War and Culture in the French Empire from Louis XIV to Napoleon, Cornell UP, 2017.

Ralston D.B., Importing the European Army. The Introduction of European Military Techniques and Institutions in the Extra-European World, 1600-1914, Chicago UP, 1990.

Rigouste M., L’ennemi enterieur. La généalogie coloniale et militaire de l'ordre sécuritaire dans la France contemporaine, La Découverte, 2011.

 

3: casi nazionali e regionali. One text of your choice from the following:

Aksan V.H., The Ottomans 1700-1923. An Empire Besieged, Routledge, 2022.

Andrade T., The Age of Gunpowder. China, Military Innovation, and the Rise of the West in World History, Princeton UP, 2017.

Bassett R., For God and Kaiser: The Imperial Austrian Army, 1619-1918, Yale UP, 2015.

Beattie P.M., The Tribute of Blood. Army, Honor, Race, and Nation in Brazil, 1864–1945, Duke UP, 2001.

Chaline O., Les Armées du Roi. Le grand chantier XVII-XVIII siècle, Armand Colin, 2016.

Chandler D., Beckett I. (a cura di), The Oxford History of the British Army, Oxford UP, 2003.

Drévillon H., Wieviorka O., Histoire militaire de la France, 2 voll. (uno a scelta), Perrin, 2021.

Elleman B.A., Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795-1989, Routledge, 2001.

Orbach D., Curse on This Country: The Rebellious Army of Imperial Japan, Cornell UP, 2017.

Reese R.R., Red Commanders: A Social History of the Soviet Army Officer Corps, 1918-1991, Kansas UP, 2005.

Reid R.J., Warfare in African History, Cambridge, 2012.

Roy K., Military Manpower, Armies and Warfare in South Asia, Routledge, 2016.

Thornton J.K., Warfare in Atlantic Africa, 1500-1800, Routledge, 1999.

Ward H.M., The War for Independence and the Transformation of American Society. War and Society in the United States, 1775-83, Routledge, 1999.

Ward S.R., Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces, Georgetown UP, 2009.

Welsh C., The Company's Sword. The East India Company and the Politics of Militarism, 1644–1858, Cambridge UP, 2022.

Wilson P.H., Iron and Blood. A Military History of the German-Speaking Peoples since 1500, Harvard, 2022.

 

Attending students may substitute the texts indicated in 2 and 3 above with active participation in seminar sessions and preparation of a written paper (see sections Teaching Methods and Assessment Methods).

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures (lectures 1,2,4,5,7,8,10,11,13,14), students' presentations, class discussion, reading of sources (lectures 3,6,9,12,15).

For each of the lectures devoted to the reading and discussion of sources and texts, three short essays (journal articles or chapters in a volume) will be indicated, which must be read in advance by all the participants. The complete list of texts to be discussed will be provided during the first lecture of the course.

All teaching materials and texts discussed in class will be made available on Virtuale, or will be present in the University's online collections.

Regular attendance is strongly encouraged. Participation in the exercise of presenting and commenting on the texts in class is a necessary condition for being considered "frequentante".

Assessment methods

The examination consists of an oral interview to assess the critical and methodological skills gained by the student. For attending students there is also the writing of a term paper (see below).

In the evaluation of the test, particular account will be taken of the student's ability to know how to navigate within the sources and bibliographical material of the examination in order to draw the useful information that will enable him to illustrate themes and problems and to know how to link them together.

Therefore, the following will be assessed:

- The mastery of content

- The ability to synthesize and analyze themes and concepts

- The ability to express oneself adequately and in language appropriate to the subject matter

The student's attainment of an organic view of the themes addressed in class jointly with their critical use, a good mastery of expression and specific language will be evaluated with marks of excellence.

A mnemonic knowledge of the subject matter together with synthesis and analysis skills articulated in correct but not always appropriate language will lead to fair grades.

Formative gaps and/or inappropriate language - albeit in the context of minimal knowledge of the examination material - will lead to grades that do not exceed sufficiency.

Formative gaps, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the bibliographic materials offered during the course will lead to negative marks.

Non-attending students must study three texts from among those indicated in the Readings/Bibliography section.

Attending students can replace the study of the texts indicated in points 2 and 3 of the Readings/Bibliography section with the writing of a paper (maximum 30,000 characters) by agreeing with the lecturer on a research topic relevant to the course and an adequate bibliography. The last call in which it will be possible to take the exam in this mode is in July 2026, after which all students will take the exam on the syllabus as a non-attendee.

A student who attends at least 75% of the lectures, and preferably all those of a seminar nature, are considered to be attending.

 

Teaching tools

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Jacopo Lorenzini