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What is History?
What is Military History?
What is Military History? presents a clear, readable introduction to a popular field of history. It shows that military history encompasses not just accounts of campaigns and battles but includes a wide range of perspectives on all aspects of past military organization and activity. In concise chapters it explains the fundamental features of the field, including:
- The history of military history, showing how it has developed from ancient times to the present;
- The key ideas and concepts that shape analysis of military activity; it argues that military history is as methodologically and philosophically sophisticated as any field of history;
- The current controversies about which military historians argue, and why they are important;
- A survey of who does military history, where it is taught and published, and how it is practiced;
- A look at where military history is headed in the future.
What is Military History? is ideal for classes in military history and in historiography generally, as well as for anyone interested in learning more about the dynamics of a rich and growing area of study.
160 pages, Paperback
First published October 2, 2006
3 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Morillo
32 books2 followersStephen R. Morrillo is Eugene N. and Marian C. Beesley Chair and professor of history at Wabash College.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 26, 2021
A clear and concise, albeit dry introduction to the topic of military history.
January 27, 2025
Generic historiography text required for military history class. Not my cup of tea but he does a good job at describing the field, challenges and opportunities.
March 4, 2014
Summary
Stephen Morillo and Michael Pavkovic make a successful survey of the evolution of military history and where it is today. When military history first originated, it was either in the form of “heroic war tales” or “formal analyses of warfare”. The utilization of either form of military history, depended on the strength of the state, where “weak states” would use the former and “strong states” the later. As the study of military history progressed, it would include other facets of academia, such as, social, economic, and political studies.
Analysis
The evolution of military history was gradual in branching out of the original two forms study. When the Romans started writing about military history they focused on the “art of generalship”. This shows, the importance of decision makers during warfare. As Morillo and Pavkovic states, it basically shows that soldiers are “automata”. This is an interesting aspect since it means that soldiers in the Roman army are expected to carry out duties to the death without any thought of consequence. It could be then analyzed that tactics of the era would focus on aggressive tactics not taking casualties and soldier moral into consideration.
It is in this sense that Morillo and Pavkovic could stress the importance of John Keegan’s Face of Battle. In The Face of Battle, John Keegan blended accounts of soldiers with a psychological analysis of war. This shows that there are multiple aspects of analyzing warfare. Instead of focusing on the decisions of generals, looking into details of individual accounts can show details of warfare otherwise unknown. Furthermore, the blend of military history with psychology shows how military history can be combined with other forms of academia to produce unique analysis.
With the combination of different forms of academia, Geoffrey Parker takes military history into its most recent evolution. In Parker’s writing of the military revolution he introduced the importance of having a global perspective and understanding of culture. Morillo and Pavkovic stress having a global perspective since it helps you to compare multiple facets of the world as to avoid “centrism”. Furthermore, it ties together evidence from around the world to make an argument both convincing and objective.
The more interesting aspect of Parker’s thesis is how we can better understand developments in society from learning about the impact of the military revolution. For example, Parker points out how the military revolution led to the rise of the “modern state” as well as “European hegemony”. With this in mind, it shows to how military history could be useful in understanding social developments in history.
From this reading, it is seen that military history is not confined to the understanding of purely military affairs. However, military history could be utilized with other forms of academia to help show developments in society. Furthermore, Morillo and Pavkovic makes it clear that the field of military history is still open to developments and questioning in the future.
Stephen Morillo and Michael Pavkovic make a successful survey of the evolution of military history and where it is today. When military history first originated, it was either in the form of “heroic war tales” or “formal analyses of warfare”. The utilization of either form of military history, depended on the strength of the state, where “weak states” would use the former and “strong states” the later. As the study of military history progressed, it would include other facets of academia, such as, social, economic, and political studies.
Analysis
The evolution of military history was gradual in branching out of the original two forms study. When the Romans started writing about military history they focused on the “art of generalship”. This shows, the importance of decision makers during warfare. As Morillo and Pavkovic states, it basically shows that soldiers are “automata”. This is an interesting aspect since it means that soldiers in the Roman army are expected to carry out duties to the death without any thought of consequence. It could be then analyzed that tactics of the era would focus on aggressive tactics not taking casualties and soldier moral into consideration.
It is in this sense that Morillo and Pavkovic could stress the importance of John Keegan’s Face of Battle. In The Face of Battle, John Keegan blended accounts of soldiers with a psychological analysis of war. This shows that there are multiple aspects of analyzing warfare. Instead of focusing on the decisions of generals, looking into details of individual accounts can show details of warfare otherwise unknown. Furthermore, the blend of military history with psychology shows how military history can be combined with other forms of academia to produce unique analysis.
With the combination of different forms of academia, Geoffrey Parker takes military history into its most recent evolution. In Parker’s writing of the military revolution he introduced the importance of having a global perspective and understanding of culture. Morillo and Pavkovic stress having a global perspective since it helps you to compare multiple facets of the world as to avoid “centrism”. Furthermore, it ties together evidence from around the world to make an argument both convincing and objective.
The more interesting aspect of Parker’s thesis is how we can better understand developments in society from learning about the impact of the military revolution. For example, Parker points out how the military revolution led to the rise of the “modern state” as well as “European hegemony”. With this in mind, it shows to how military history could be useful in understanding social developments in history.
From this reading, it is seen that military history is not confined to the understanding of purely military affairs. However, military history could be utilized with other forms of academia to help show developments in society. Furthermore, Morillo and Pavkovic makes it clear that the field of military history is still open to developments and questioning in the future.
October 28, 2019
Perfect.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews