Course summary

From the walls of Troy to the streets of Sangin, warfare has been at the centre of human life and death. Those who know nothing of war can understand neither the past nor the present, for, as Trotsky famously said, ‘war is the locomotive of history’. Modern military history does more than re-fight old battles, however. It can, for example, teach us much about the cultures and societies that find themselves at war, and indeed about the souls of the men and women who do the fighting. Our two-year MA in Military History by distance learning programme offers you the opportunity to explore military history, drawing in particular on Birmingham's expertise in the history of the two World Wars and air power. Subjects to be studied include command and leadership; tactics, operations and the use of technology; ethics and war; and the individual's experience of war. This course will stimulate and challenge you to think about the history of warfare in all its aspects, building a skill set over two years of part-time study which will equip you for further research in the field and/or broaden and deepen your understanding of the cruel, complex but endlessly fascinating phenomenon that is war. Birmingham’s Department of History is ranked the best in the country*, with 87% of its research rated as world leading or internationally excellent in terms of its quality. This research expertise is evident within our teaching within our programmes drawing on the diverse regional and chronological expertise available in the Department of History.