War and Society

David A. Wilson named winner of the 2022 C.P. Stacey Award

[Cliquez ici pour le français]2022 Winner: David A. Wilson Canadian Spy StoryThe C.P. Stacey Award Committee and the Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada (LCSC) have awarded historian David A. Wilson of the University of Toronto the 2022 C.P. Stacey Award for...

David A. Wilson a été nommé gagnant du prix 2022 C.P. Stacey

[click here for English]Gagnant 2022: David A. Wilson Canadian Spy StoryLe Prix C.P Stacey comité au Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada (LCSC)  a récompensé l’historien David A. Wilson de l’Université de Toronto du Prix C.P Stacey dans l'année 2022 pour son...

The Ties that Bind: Colonial Families, British North America, and the Imperial World

In this article, Cecilia Morgan examines concepts of transnationalism, class formation and settler colonialism in Canada and across the British world in the late-eighteenth and early-twentieth century. Her current research project explores these themes within the...

Canada in Italy by Terry Copp

Eighty Years Ago the Allied Armies invaded Italy, the so-called “soft underbelly” of Fortress Europe. What followed was twenty months of hard fighting. Canada’s Citizen Army participated in this fighting – and would go on to play a vital role in the liberation of...

Peacekeeping Beyond the UN: Transitions, Regional Organizations and Ad Hoc Alliances

In this article, Alistair Edgar examines the diverse range of peacekeeping initiatives which have evolved as part of a United Nations framework. While not in all cases, peacekeeping alternatives have arisen as a result of limitations to UN-backed initiatives in...

Call for Papers: Engagements and Debate in Canada’s Second World War

The Second World War was pivotal for Canada. The country was an important part of the fight against Nazism, and the experience of the war – the losses, political changes, social transformation, and technological advances – meant a country that was irrevocably changed...

New Articles are available from ‘Canadian Military History’

Vol. 32, No. 2 Summer / Autumn 2023Arrows, Bears and Secrets The Role of Intelligence in Decisions on the CF-105 Program ALAN BARNES Abstract: Newly available information has made it possible for the first time to examine the role of intelligence in decisions on the...

Watch Now: Strategic Conflict, Operational Uncertainty with Terry Copp

On the 80th anniversary of the invasion of Sicily and the mainland battles at Salerno, the Sangro and Ortona, Terry Copp examines the effects of Anglo- American strategic conflict on the operations of both Fifth and Eighth Armies, with special reference to the...

Canada and the Rule of Law: Lessons from History and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

In this article, Roger Sarty examines Canada’s responsibility to defend Ukraine against the Russian invasion, and contextualizes this responsibility within Canada’s historic role of supporting internationalism and its need for stability and close partnerships to...

Veterans of the First World War – Special Issue of Canadian Military History

Vol. 32, No. 1 Winter / Spring 2023“By Reason of Age and Necessity” Pension Claims of Veterans of the War in South Africa AMY SHAW Abstract: Under the War Veterans Allowance Act (1930) some veterans of the War in South Africa (1899-1902) became eligible for support...

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War is a near-constant aspect of the human experience. For better or worse, it has fundamentally shaped societies across the world.

The War and Society collective exists to foster research, education, public outreach and discussion of historical and contemporary conflict. It acknowledges the importance of conflict as well as its diverse and far-reaching impacts which extend beyond the battlefield.

The War and Society collective encompasses a vast array of topics. The Centre’s researchers study the conduct of specific campaigns and wars, analysing how conflicts were fought, why specific decisions were made and how certain outcomes occurred. They also explore the social and cultural aspects of war, including the medicalisation of conditions like “shell shock” or “PTSD,” and wartime experiences on the battlefield and at home. Still, others explore the short- and long-term effects of war on individuals and social change, peacekeeping and peacebuilding initiatives by local and foreign governments and collective modes of remembrance and commemoration of past conflicts.

Ultimately, the War and Society collective examines the totality of war and endeavours to understand how it has shaped the past and present.

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