History

HSY315: HISTORY OF WAR
Assessment Item 2: Essay

Length: 2,500 words (+/- 10%; excluding notes and bibliography)

Due date: 5pm, Friday, week 8

Questions:

1. How do historical conquests echo in the modern world? Select one (or
not more than two) historical examples of conquest and consider their
effects.

2. The French philosopher Montesquieu wrote that ‘An empire founded
in war has to maintain itself by war.’ Are empires agents of order and
peace, or of conquest and war? Discuss with reference to a specific
historical case study.

3. Has the idea of just war become redundant?

4. ‘Colonial frontier violence should be remembered as genocide rather
than war.’ Discuss with reference to a specific historical case study.

Details:

Each essay will present a historically contextualised argument in response to
ONE of the above questions, and incorporate references to at least 8 scholarly
sources (books, book chapters, and journal articles). In doing so, the essay
must contextualise the examples of warfare discussed — for example, by
showing which historical factors gave rise to warfare, or what historical factors
determine how warfare was interpreted and understood in different historical
periods.

Each essay will also incorporate evidence drawn from primary historical texts,
and relate those texts to the specific historical context in which they were
produced.

The essay has a specific format. It will consist of:

(1)  an introduction stating your aims and objectives in the essay, and
briefly framing your argument.

(2)   A logical and coherent series of body paragraphs in which you
develop your argument.

(3)  A conclusion that does not merely summarise the essay, but reflects
on the the implications of your argument, and/or the historical
significance of the topic.

You may use subheadings in your essay, but no dot points please! Graphs,
tables, and illustrations may also be used (as long as they are appropriately
labelled).

All sources must be appropriately cited with a bibliography listing all sources
cited in the essay. You may use either footnotes or in-text citations.

Criteria:

1. Understanding of historical context of the subject matter.

2. Quality of argument and historical analysis.

3. Reflective and critical use of evidence, including contextualisation of key
primary source(s).

4. Logical structure and standards of presentation.

5. Quality of writing and presentation (including a clear and consistent method
of citation and bibliography).