War and Society
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Register now for the 32nd Canadian Military History Colloquium!
Registration is now open for the 32nd Canadian Military History Colloquium, 6-7 May 2022.
Welcome to the Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada
The Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies (LCMSDS), which has become one of Canada’s largest military history research centres since its founding in the early 1990s by Terry Copp and Marc Kilgour, is now expanding to become the Laurier Centre...
Introducing the Copp Scholars Program!
One of the flagship initiatives of the Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada is the Copp Scholars Program. Named after one of its founding directors—Terry Copp—and in the spirit of his commitment to cultivating research and learning opportunities for his students,...
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.