History of War

About the seminar

This seminar, founded in 1958 by Sir Michael Howard at the same time as he developed the discipline of War Studies, has been running at the IHR for over sixty years, for many decades as the Military History Seminar and from 2024 as the History of War Seminar. One of Sir Michael Howard’s greatest contributions to the history of war was his insistence on moving beyond the battlefield and examining the wider political and social contexts in which wars were fought, and what were once considered ‘new military history’ approaches are now established elements of the historiography of wars and armed conflict. The establishment of this seminar was one small seed from which grew a flourishing sub-discipline, whose range thematically, geographically and intellectually has extended to all corners of the historical discipline.

This seminar, which has a long-established ‘work in progress’ tradition, accepts papers from established academics, early career researchers and doctoral students, as well as independent scholars. The seminar covers the historical period from the revolutionary era (post-1780) to the twenty-first century, without restriction to region. We seek papers on the history of military operations and armed forces as well as papers that move beyond operational military history and consider issues of wider relevance to the history of war and its impact: military thought; the theory and practice of land, naval and air warfare; the origins and consequences of armed conflict; strategy and policy in wartime; legal, moral, and philosophical implications of war; war experience and memory; issues of race and gender in wartime; global and comparative dimensions of wars and warfare; innovative approaches to the study of war and conflict. 
 

The Seminar is a collaboration between the IHR and the Sir Michael Howard Centre of the History of War, King’s College London.