<p>S2 has always enjoyed military history, but has zippo interest in military institutes. He has no idea what he wants to do in life - though a major in history or international relations seem possible. Anyway, we were talking and lots of schools have history, but it's hard to figure out who is good in what specialities. When I was at Harvard there was a guy who was famous for naval history, but I have no idea where you might look now. The Princeton Guide has a bunch of schools listed as good for History, but we have no idea what flavor of history is getting taught at the schools they list. When we went to Brandeis we were interested to see that one of the courses they mentioned in a flyer being offered by their history department was a history of war and we wondered what other schools might offer similar courses. We also wondered if there were other places with great history courses one might want to know about.</p>
<p>With a true interest in a specific area, look for the Ruggs Recommendation guide to college majors. It has some sort of rating system by major.
Once you identify interesting schools, go to the webpage of the departments and then those of individual faculty members where you should find their areas of interest/expertise.
Remember, departmental expertise is based on faculty interest; often courses are not offered when faculty relocate or are on sabbatical.
S could initiate e-mail correspondence with folks who have interesting specialties.</p>
<p>Yes, I’ve been meaning to go find Ruggs - it’s not at the closest library, but it is at some other ones. My son’s interests aren’t that narrow at this point and I think he may well drift off to the more contemporary stuff except that he’s always really enjoyed military history. He doesn’t see himself as a future academic.</p>
<p>Don’t worry. Many history programs will have at least few military history courses. There always have been wars that changed history and they teach those like WWI, WWII, American Revolution, colonial wars, European wars, Vietnam, etc. Also Europeanists are usually trained to work with military history to some extent so your S will at least have someone he can look to talk about military history. You can definitely look through course catalogue and see if they offer it but I wouldn’t count on it being offered all the time.</p>
<p>I think Kansas State has a pretty good Mil. History program (IIRC)</p>
<p>mathmom, the good news is that history as a category would be a strong department at any college or university with rigorous academics so he’ll have lots of choices. Most history majors require a sampling of courses across a range of time and geography with an eventual concentration in a place or era. </p>
<p>A concentration in military history could be viewed as a silo – all wars throughout time – or a specific point in time, EG, Europe during WWII. It would interact and overlap with political science and political economics and peace studies – burgeoning fields – and which lead in turn to schools that specialize in diplomacy and international relations like Tufts, JHU or Georgetown.</p>
<p>I would suggest that your son also take into consideration the political slant of the college itself and especially the department. For example studying the Vietnam war at Columbia would be different from the perspective at Stanford. I would start by checking if ROTC is welcomed (or even allowed) on campus which would indicate, perhaps, a more balanced viewpoint toward the military. Conversely, colleges with more middle-road politics (they are all liberal) like Williams, Colgate, Bowdoin, Princeton may offer a wider choice of courses that analyze military options.</p>
<p>Many of our friends in the foreign service have attended the Army’s War College (I think it has another name now) and even the most peace loving among them have found the experience fascinating.</p>
<p>My Dad was a student at the War College (as a Foreign Service officer) and later worked there. Interesting place.</p>
<p>I know that enough history will be everywhere. Currently he’s interested in Gustavus Adolphus and the 30 years war having written a paper on the subject last year. We’ve looked at Tufts and Georgetown - they are very reachy for him because he’s got too many Bs’</p>
<p>It’s figuring out the political slant that’s tricky - I know when I was at Harvard the titles of the courses didn’t always tell you who was doing the Marxist interpretations, you had to read their papers. I don’t need to do his homework for him, just trying to figure out what questions he should be asking and where he should be looking for the answers.</p>
<p>“Peace” , “Conflict” and “Security Studies” are a hot topic now. Military history courses are often considered part of this cross-disciplinary area. Most of the Ivy schools have some kind of a program, but…look below…and you’ll find links to a few of the many other programs.</p>
<p>Look at where the profs. are from who are writing articles for scholarly “Peace”, “War” and “Security” journals. Also…look at where grants and fellowships are going for some of the “peace” institutes/foundations. Although many of these grants are for poli-sci, there are some for history…and…your son may develop an interest in the intersection of poli sci and history when it comes to war issues</p>
<p>US Institute of Peace: [United</a> States Institute of Peace: Committed to the Prevention, Management, and Peaceful Resolution of International Conflicts](<a href=“http://www.usip.org/]United”>http://www.usip.org/)</p>
<p>Interested in studying in England?<br>
[Department</a> of War Studies :War Studies :King’s College London](<a href=“Faculties and departments”>Faculties and departments)
[War</a> Studies - Undergraduate degree courses 2010 - University of Kent](<a href=“http://www.kent.ac.uk/studying/undergrad/subjects/war.html]War”>http://www.kent.ac.uk/studying/undergrad/subjects/war.html)</p>
<p>University of Indianapolis??? Includes faculty from History, Poli Sci and Int’l Relations: [Institute</a> for the Study of War and Diplomacy](<a href=“Shaheen College of Arts & Sciences - UIndy”>Shaheen College of Arts & Sciences - UIndy)</p>
<p>McMaster in Ontario (note that a number of the faculty are from the history dept)<br>
[PEACE</a> STUDIES](<a href=“http://registrar.mcmaster.ca/calendar/year2008/sec_870.htm]PEACE”>http://registrar.mcmaster.ca/calendar/year2008/sec_870.htm)</p>
<p>Notre Dame (link is to list of profs…a few are from History)
[Faculty</a> Advisors for Undergraduates | Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies](<a href=“http://kroc.nd.edu/programs/undergraduate/facultyadvisors]Faculty”>http://kroc.nd.edu/programs/undergraduate/facultyadvisors)</p>
<p>University of Colorado at Boulder:
[University</a> of Colorado Peace and Conflict Studies](<a href=“http://peacestudies.conflictresearch.org/gateways/peacestudies/approved_courses.jsp]University”>http://peacestudies.conflictresearch.org/gateways/peacestudies/approved_courses.jsp)
List of History courses for degree in Peace and Conflict Studies:
2100 Revolution in History
2222 War & Society
2636 Women of Color and Activism
2837 American Working Class History
3656 History of Women in Progressive Social Movements
4116 US Diplomatic History:1865-1939
4126 US Diplomatic History Since 1940
4146 Military History
4166 War in Vietnam and Its Legacy
4222 War and the European State, 1618-1793
4223 Revolutionary France
4328 The Modern Middle East
4329 Islam in the Modern World: Revivalism, Modernism and Fundamentalism
4422 World War I: The Brutalization of Europe
4433 Nazi Germany
4445 U.S. since 1968
4636 Lesbian and Gay History: Culture, Politics and Social Change in the United States
4820 Human Rights: Historical Perspectives
4733 Russian Revolution and the Soviet Regime</p>
<p>5 College (western Mass.) program in Peace and War Studies: <a href=“Michael Klare | Hampshire College”>Michael Klare | Hampshire College;
<p>Dartmouth Dickey Center - War and Peace Studies: <a href=“http://dickey.dartmouth.edu/content/view/4/66/[/url]”>http://dickey.dartmouth.edu/content/view/4/66/</a></p>
<p>Stanford: Center for International Security and Cooperation: <a href=“http://cisac.stanford.edu/docs/undergraduate_honors_program/[/url]”>http://cisac.stanford.edu/docs/undergraduate_honors_program/</a></p>
<p>Haverford also has a Peace and Conflict Studies program. How do civilians get into the Army War College, anyway? S2 would love, love, love to study there.</p>
<p>S2 also looked at the Kings College curriculum. May try to do something there or at LSE for a term abroad. Also look in the polisci and IR departments – S2 has been able to find things similar to what your S is looking for, but it’s often a combination of courses from various departments.</p>
<p>
You have to be a senior military, civilian, or international leaders from the military services or a government agenciy. My recollection is that my father did it after about 15 years in the foreign service. I think it was right before he took the number two position in an African country, so he was pretty senior by then.</p>
<p>Mathmom:</p>
<p>Some of the War and Peace Studies courses may well be more anti-military than others.
Besides courses on specific wars, your son might look up the websites of the profs of history and political sciences of the schools he is interested in. Profs interested in international history and diplomatic history are more likely to teach courses dealing with war(s).</p>
<p>My spouse teaches military history for the Marine Corps on a part-time basis as he is still on active-duty. I would not worry about the slant of the school so much as how good the history department is. My S spent a year going throug Command and Staff College with the Marine Corps and on his required reading list were several books that I’m sure many people would consider “anti-military.” Military Science, military history, is not about being pro or anti military, it’s about becoming an expert on the topics at hand, which requires a willingness to set aside personal bias. Once you’ve narrowed the history departments, then I’d look at course offerings. </p>
<p>I see he is not interested in military institutes but has he considered ROTC? Not that service is a requirement but it’s another route to consider that offers additional chances to study military history (& be part of making it, which is the more serious and far more dangerous consideration.) </p>
<p>You son might find this reading list interesting, [Professional</a> Reading Prog](<a href=“http://www.marineshop.net/browse.cfm/professional-books/professional-reading-prog/2,466.html]Professional”>http://www.marineshop.net/browse.cfm/professional-books/professional-reading-prog/2,466.html). </p>
<p>If your S any questions, please have him pm my account and I’ll pass his note along to my husband.</p>
<p>great thread, thanks for starting this mathmom. My sophormore S is also very interested in military/war history. He reads tons on his own and loves history in school. He has stated he wants to major in history at college and then go onto law or politics. I was trying to find a summer college history course for him to take locally. </p>
<p>He will miss out on a one semester course in WWII offered at his school next year. He could take it if we allowed him to drop lang, math or science (or Ap European history) for that sememster but we won’t. He is good in math and science so I want him to complete 4 years of it and I think he should get the lang requirement finished jr year.</p>
<p>I doubt he’d be interested in ROTC, but the reading list is interesting. He’s read some of those books, and there are a number I think he’d enjoy. Thanks for the link. While his views are liberal, he’s actually gotten tired of the approach of all of his history teachers. So he’d like to look for some places where there is more than one way to approach the subject. He’s pretty good at catching bias and misinformation.</p>
<p>My impression is that top history programs have lost interest in military history over the years, cultural and intellectual history have taken their place. I’ve read on other forums that individuals with backgrounds in military history have a hard time finding jobs because there isn’t much demand for their degrees. You might try looking in IR department. I know at Harvard the Government and Social Studies department offer courses on strategy and case studies of different wars.</p>
<p>You’re welcome! I’m glad he’s an avid reader. </p>
<p>Many of the world’s best military historians have never served. If he’s not interested, I don’t see that as a problem at all. Far more important is his ability to catch bias and misinformation. </p>
<p>I wish him the best of luck.</p>
<p>pugmadkate – Thanks for the reading list. S2 will love it! mathmom, the criteria for the AWC are what we suspected. S2 has considered service academies but is not sure they would clear him due to some chronic minor medical stuff. ROTC has also been on his radar but is concerned about whether he’d actually get to do the stuff he’s interested in.</p>
<p>This is a great thread!</p>
<p>WR, I wonder if that isn’t changing? Just like the VA lacked funds and interest for so many years but has benefitted tremendously from Iraq and Afghanistan, I wonderf i interest in military history is also rising. </p>
<p>I also think this must be a very interesting time to study military history as the slow change from the cold war gives way to terrorism.</p>
<p>CD, You are welcome! </p>
<p>Your son’s concern is a valid one. If he wants to serve and take advantadge of the educational benefits, great. But if his desire to serve is not what is really driving him, it’s a very difficult road. </p>
<p>As I’ve said, many military history experts have never served in the military and they are very well respected within the military. Best of luck to your son.</p>
<p>I would steer far away from “War and Peace” studies at any institution. Which is better? Duh. A political take more than history.
From the SAT Subject Tests to the way history is taught in high school and college, the message is that war never solved anything. May well be true, but a political take rather than serious historical study.
At Princeton there is concentration (I think that’s what it is called) in the History Department called “War, Revolution and the State”. My daughter will be taking a course in the Fall called “The American Military Experience”, taught by a West Point graduate and Iraq veteran. James McPherson is an emeritus at Princeton who was his generation’s American Civil War scholar. From what I can detect, there isn’t a suffocating political bias there (at Princeton), but time will tell.
As an anecdote, my daughter was the only woman, in a list of students accepted for the course, to enroll.</p>