War and Society
Recent Posts
Watch Now: Battle of the Atlantic with Ted Barris
In the 20th century’s greatest war, one battlefield held the key to victory or defeat – the North Atlantic. It took 2,074 days and nights to determine its outcome, but the Battle of the Atlantic proved the turning point of the Second World War. For five and a half...
Eyewitness Canada: Armed Convoy Security, West Germany, 1977
Eyewitness Canada explores the firsthand accounts of Canadians whose perspectives were shaped by historical experience. Public and academic historians present untold stories, inviting readers to reflect on how the lessons and challenges of the past shaped the present...
Apply now for 2023 Battlefield Study Tours!
Student Battlefield Study Tour, 26 May - 12 June 2023 Are you an outstanding graduate student, undergraduate, or very recent graduate from a Canadian university who wants to understand the role Canadians played in the liberation of Europe in the World Wars? This year...
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.