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HIST 3002: War and Society
Country Study Research Project
Due date: 2 December, 5:00 p.m.
The capstone project for this course is a research project (14-17 pages) on one military culture,
focusing on key aspects of war and society as defined in this course. You will upload a copy to
D2L. This project counts as your final and is 25% of your overall grade.
This project is more research project than research paper. The first purpose of this exercise is to
develop your research skills at finding good secondary and primary sources. The second purpose
is to analyze those sources as well as to assess how war and society affect each other.
OBJECTIVES
1. Compare and contrast the complex interaction of war and society upon each other.
2. Conduct research, evaluate different sources, and analyze the intersections of war and
society.
FORMAT
1. Use a cover page and create a title for your paper.
2. Put your name and the course name only on the cover page.
—Note: number your pages but the cover page is NOT page 1 of your paper.
3. Follow the “Style Guide” in your syllabus for the writing of your paper.
4. Use footnotes to cite your information, using Turabian to do so properly.
5. Create a “Works Cited” page at the end, using Turabian to do so properly.
ASSIGNMENT
Choose one country or region of the world (except the United States, which is off limits for this
assignment). Limit your study to a particular war or timeframe as you can find enough sufficient
sources. If there are not enough sources, you must broaden your timeframe and/or region. Only
one student may do a specific country in a specific war. (For example, only one student may do
Germany in World War II.)
Using the module topics for this course, research what academic and scholarly works explore
your country’s military history and analyze what they tell about war and society within your
country’s history. More specifically, choose three of the seven modules and find one scholarly
book and one academic journal article for each of those three topics and analyze those sources.
FINDING SOURCES
Find good military histories of your country and timeframe. Use these sources to see what has
been published about your specific module subjects. These will be your “fall back’ resources for
when you cannot find books or articles on a particular module.
Your research should concentrate on two search engines: the UNG library catalog and the
University System of Georgia Catalog. Another good starting point are the sources used and
cited in your assigned readings. One or two good sources or authors can lead you to others.
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Once you find a good book or article, check the sources used in that work to identify more
sources, and check for more works by the same author. Chapters in edited works count as
scholarly articles (assuming the book itself is scholarly). Check book reviews to get information
about the usefulness of a book.
You must demonstrate that you tried to locate both a scholarly book and a scholarly article on
each module. If you do not find one of each, talk about how you searched and attach copies of
search results that did not work, to show that you made a good effort to find relevant sources. If
you cannot find both a book and an article, try to look for two scholarly books, or two scholarly
articles. If you still cannot find relevant sources, try a web search as the last resort.
You can use the same source for more than one module if you truly cannot find other sources.
However, the point of this project is to demonstrate your research skills. If you use the same
sources repeatedly, you either need to broaden or change your topic, or you are not using good
research strategies. If you have struggles, see the library or the instructor for help.
Do not limit your book searches to the UNG library! Identify all books that might be useful.
Use interlibrary loan and GIL-Express as necessary.
Researching the Modules. Be sure to check your class notes for definitions of what constitutes
civilians, total war, coalition warfare, etc. This is a military history course and your sources
should focus on the military aspects of each topic.
1. Origins of War
Focus on works pertaining to the causes of your conflict’s origins. What were the
political, social, and economic causes of your conflict? How did your nation
enter this conflict and what role did it have in helping to cause the war?
In this case, you would not have to focus solely upon your country but you should be
able to explain your country’s role in the origins of your war.
2. Civilians in War
Focus primarily on the actions of your country’s military against civilians, rather than
on your civilians or on the home front in wartime
Try the search terms “civilian war casualties,” “atrocities,” “war victims,” or
“bombing, aerial,” “occupation” plus your country/war
3. Women in War
Focus on women in your country who played military roles
Look at how your war affected the status of women in your country
Be sure to check the reference work Amazons to Fighter Pilots
4. Total War
Focus on how your country managed the conflict if it was a total war.
Was its strategy total (or unlimited) or was its management total?
5. Coalition Warfare
Focus on any coalitions or alliances that your country has participated in during
wartime
Look at your county’s management of those alliances, what issues they dealt with,
and the effectiveness of that coalition.
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6. Environment and War
Focus on your country’s actions were influenced by the environment or the ways that
your country actions impacted the environment
The following subject headings can be very helpful: “Armed Forces – Environmental
aspects – History”; “War – Environmental aspects – History”; or “Postwar
reconstruction – Environmental aspects – History”
7. Consequences of War
In class, this last module will include elements such as war termination, veterans’
issues, and, finally, memory and remembering war.
If you choose to research this module, you may expand your search to other elements
concerning the consequences of war in your country.
WRITING THE PAPER
Introduction. The first page or two of the paper should provide an overview of the main points
you intend to make about your country’s experience of war. What kinds of sources are available
to study the military history of this country? How recent are they? Are there more books or
more articles? Are these books scholarly works or meant for a general audience? Are there
many sources that focus specifically on your chosen country or region, or is it only covered in
more general histories? Identify 2-3 general histories that are relevant to your country and
conflict. Identify some general characteristics of the interaction between war and society for
your country during your selected timeframe.
Body. The body of your paper will include four parts. The first three parts will find and then
analyze sources that explore three of the seven modules from class this semester:
1. Origins of War
2. Civilians in War
3. Women in War
4. Total War
5. Coalition Warfare
6. Environment and War
7. The Consequences of War
The fourth part will include primary sources that analyze the experiences of two individuals from
your country fighting in the war that you are studying. The individuals can be anyone, soldier or
civilian, as long as they are from your country and timeframe.
Divide your paper into four sections corresponding to the modules that you have chosen (the
fourth section will look at two published primary sources). Each section should start with a
numbered subheading (1-4) and title. In each module’s analysis, identify at least one scholarly
book and one scholarly (peer-reviewed) article, plus any additional relevant sources you may
find.
Within each numbered section in the body of your paper, discuss the kind of scholarly sources
that you found and summarize the content of those sources. What do your sources say about
your country/timeframe and that module? In this sense, analyze each source: comment on the
content, date, and quality of the information. Also, explain each source’s argument and describe
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their evidence and reasoning. Make sure to identify and explain how the general characteristics
of the interaction of war and society you mentioned in the Introduction demonstrate themselves
in your sources. Analysis of each source and their arguments should be 1 1/2 to 2 pages in
length.
Conclude each section with at least one paragraph analyzing your country’s military history in
this aspect of war and society. Was this a prominent or minor aspect of war? Was it a strength
or a weakness for your country? How did this element affect your country’s war effort?
Primary Source/Experience of War. The fourth section in the body of your paper will include
two book-length published primary sources that describe the experience of war for your
country/time frame. This can include wartime sources (diaries/journals or letters home) that
have been edited and published or postwar memoirs. Use primary sources of soldiers or civilians
from your country.
For each primary source, consider the following questions:
a. What is the nature of your source— published diary or letters or a postwar memoir? Who
is the author, what did they do as a soldier or civilian during the war, and when was the
source originally produced? (i.e., when was the letter or diary written; not when was it
published). If a memoir, then how long between the experiences and writing the
account? Where, when and in what units did they serve if a soldier?
b. Describe the experiences, motivations, and perceptions of the author. Was the author a
reliable witness? Does this primary source represent a typical experience?
c. Most importantly, what does this person say about the topics of this course? For
example, what do they say about enduring total war? What do they think about women
in wartime? How did the environment shape their perceptions? In essence, having read
about these topics in an academic sense, what do those who lived through a war have to
say? What did you learn from this account as it pertains to the class topics?
Conclude this section by comparing how these two perspectives. Do they offer contradictory or
complementary accounts? How do they relate to the themes of the course? What do these firsthand accounts say about your country’s society in wartime?
*NOTE: you can earn extra points if you also
• Comment on coverage of the topic in the World History of Warfare textbook
• Use interlibrary loan or GIL-Express to review relevant books that the library does not
own. Attach proof to your final paper, such as a copy of the email sent by the library.
• Compare your sources and findings to other course readings, as they relate to your topic
• Evaluate how many and what kind of sources are available in your country’s native (nonEnglish) language.
Conclusion. Did your research turn up any new insights? What were your own preconceptions
and assumptions regarding the subject? How do your sources and findings compare with the
course material and discussions throughout the semester? What are your overall conclusions on
the interaction between war and society?
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“Works Cited” Page. On a new page, create a “Works Cited” page of all sources cited in your
paper, using Turabian’s Manual for Writers.
FOOTNOTES
One of the key features of a history paper is that you cite the sources of your information. It
must be absolutely clear which words and ideas are your own analysis and which were someone
else’s. Good citation shows that your work is open to verification and is intellectually honest.
Use footnotes to cite sources in the body of your paper. Use Turabian’s A Manual for Writers
(chapters 16-17) to help you footnote your sources correctly.
Make use of Turabian’s Manual for Writers as you search for scholarly materials, write your
project, and cite your sources.
DEADLINES
28 August: Country/War topic
14 September: Preliminary annotated bibliography
7 October: Final bibliography (MUST meet with me first)
9 November: Three (3) modules drafted
2 December: Final project due
*Note: Failure to meet any of these deadlines will each result in five (5) points deducted from
your project’s final score. Failure to turn in the final project on 2 December will result in a zero
(0) for the project’s grade.
The student may change his/her country or timeframe after the deadline or may change
sources after the final bibliography deadline but only with the approval of the instructor.
GRADE BREAKDOWN
Four modules = 50 points (12.5 points per module)
Writing = 30 points
Citations = 10 points (0, 5, 10)
Quality of sources =10 points (0, 5, 10)
Total 100 points
LASTLY . . .
1. Any paper that does not include citations will receive a grade no higher than 65.
—Incorrect or inadequate citations will be an automatic ten-point penalty.
2. Any paper that is not at least 14 full pages (excluding the cover page and Works Cited
page) or does not meet the minimum requirements above will receive a grade no higher
than 65.
3. Any form of plagiarism will result in a zero (0) and will be reported.
4. Late work is not accepted. You have until 5:00 p.m. (1700) on 2 December to upload
your paper to D2L.
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Style Guide
1. Format. Your paper will be in Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced, one-inch
margins. It will be 14-17 pages in length.
2. Thesis statements and topic sentences. Your thesis statement establishes your position;
everything should revolve around your thesis statement. You must make it clear and strong
so the reader knows how you have answered the essay prompt. The rest of your paper
explains your position. A topic sentence is like a thesis statement for a single paragraph. It
establishes the importance of that paragraph and how it relates to the thesis statement. The
rest of the paragraph is evidence on behalf of that topic sentence. It is important for the
writer to make the connections for the reader.
3. Past tense. Because you are writing about events that happened one to two hundred years
ago, use the past tense.
4. NO passive voice. The passive voice uses “to be” verbs. It is weaker, less certain, and less
direct than an active voice. Here is an example of the passive voice: “The hat was placed
there by Jim.” A better, more direct way is: “Jim placed the hat there.”
5. ONLY third-person voice. This paper should be written in the third-person (he, she, they)
and the writer should avoid both first-person and second-person voice. First-person voice
includes such words as I, me, us, our, etc. Second-person is the word you. Further, avoid
saying “I believe ” or “In my opinion” since the entire paper is what you believe.
6. “This/That” modifiers. The words “this,” “that,” and their various forms are modifiers.
They modify something. You need to add what it modifies. For example, the following
would be incorrect: “This proves my point.” Rather, you need to say what “this” refers to:
“This piece of evidence proves my point.”
7. Quotes do NOT stand alone. You, the author, are to use quotes within your sentences. You
are to integrate them into your writing and to explain why it works but they do not stand
alone as their own sentences. Because your papers are not long enough to warrant them, do
not use block quotes. Quotes will not be more than one sentence in length.
8. Footnote your sources in accordance with the Chicago Manual of Style. Refer to the
Turabian’s A Manual for Writers (chapters 16-17) to help you to cite your sources properly.
Points are taken off for incomplete or inaccurate citation.
9. Plagiarism. Plagiarism is a very serious offense in academics and is taken very seriously
here. Plagiarism is duplicating someone’s writings or ideas without properly crediting them
and passing it off as your own. Plagiarism includes (1) copying word-for-word what
someone says without giving them credit; (2) copying their idea or concept without giving
the author proper credit; (3) it also includes copying how someone says something, even if
you do give them credit. Penalties are severe: from taking a zero on the assignment to failing
the course. If you have any doubt whatsoever whether something constitutes plagiarism,
don’t do it. If you have doubt, a good rule of thumb is to quote the individual and cite the
author properly.
10. More than one draft. Give yourself time to make changes and revisions. I know enough to
spot a rough draft; such papers are graded accordingly. Have a friend read your paper to
ensure that you have clearly presented your thesis and arguments and that there are no
grammatical errors. In your paper, make sure to eliminate all contractions, colloquialisms,
and jargon. The way you speak is not the same as how you write. In case of printing
problems, at least upload a copy to turnitin.com and inform the instructor.