A History of Violence (HIST30068)

Every act of violence has a history. In order to more fully understand how and why violence recurs, how it has changed over time, and how it has been a driving force in history, we need to develop a more sophisticated and complex understanding of its historical origins. This subject will explore the manner in which violence has been used by individuals, communities and the state over time, as well as the way in which that use has been perceived and portrayed in the modern world, from the sixteenth century to the present. It will be organised around four key themes: war, bodies, othering and contact zones. The power and practice of violence will be explored through the origins, causes, and experience of violence through changing technologies, media representations, acts and legal frameworks, and lived experience of violence at an individual and community level.

From Hiroshima to the Holocaust, from Aztec rituals to witchcraft trials: how is violence embedded in and representative of societies through time, and how do we understand this comparatively as historians? We will analyse the legacies and aftermaths of violence, exploring how it is remembered and how it is forgotten. A violent act is never erased; it continues to resonate and has an impact on contemporary society in ways that we do not always fully comprehend.