Category Archives: War and Society

New Research on Vikings

Posted on September 21, 2020 by briansandberg

DNA studies are revealing new information on complicated ethnic backgrounds of Viking warriors and traders in medieval Europe. A research team led by a professor at the University of Copenhagen has analyzed the genomes of 443 bodies buried in Viking … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural History, European History, History of Medicine, History of Science, History of the Western World, History of Violence, Maritime History, Material Culture, Medieval History, Museums and Historical Memory, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society, World History | Leave a comment

Art of Renaissance Warfare

Posted on August 28, 2020 by briansandberg

The Center for Renaissance Studies at the Newberry Library (Chicago) will host a virtual conversation with Jonathan Tavares (The Art Institute of Chicago) and Suzanne Karr Schmidt (Newberry Library) on The Art of Renaissance Warfare, to be held on Zoom. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History, Cultural History, Digital Humanities, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Wars of Religion, Globalization, History of Science, History of Violence, Italian History, Lectures and Seminars, Material Culture, Mediterranean World, Museums and Historical Memory, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Reformation History, Renaissance Art and History, War and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World, World History | Leave a comment

Considering Civil Wars

Posted on August 5, 2020 by briansandberg

Civil wars fracture political systems and rend societies, often leaving deep scars and traumatic memories that haunt generations. Yet civil wars often continue to be understood primarily through the lens of national historiographies that focus on nation-states and the history … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Conflict, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, European History, History of the Western World, History of Violence, Political Culture, Revolts and Revolutions, State Development Theory, Strategy and International Politics, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

On the Business of War

Posted on August 5, 2020 by briansandberg

The business of war is unfortunately all too present in today’s world, yet the activities of weapons researchers and developers, arms manufacturers, military contractors, military gear designers, military trade shows, gun dealers, military suppliers, and private military companies are not … Continue reading →

Posted in Arms Control, Civilians and Refugees in War, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, European Wars of Religion, History of Violence, Laws of War, Strategy and International Politics, War and Society, War in Film, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Reflecting on the European Wars of Religion in an Age of Religious Violence

Posted on May 11, 2020 by briansandberg

I am happy to report that my latest article has been published in the 50th anniversary issue of Sixteenth Century Journal. “We allegedly live in an age of religious warfare. Ever since the September 11 Attacks in 2001, journalists, analysts, … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Conflict, Early Modern Europe, European History, French Wars of Religion, History in the Media, History of Violence, Peacemaking Processes, Reformation History, Religious History, Religious Politics, Religious Violence, Strategy and International Politics, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Women and War in Belgium

Posted on March 31, 2020 by briansandberg

Gabrielle Petit stares defiantly into the distance, under gray skies in Brussels. Almost every morning, I walk beneath Petit’s stern gaze on my way to the archives, thinking about her last moments and about the long history of women and … Continue reading →

Posted in Archival Research, Civil Conflict, Civilians and Refugees in War, Current Research, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Wars of Religion, French History, French Wars of Religion, Gender and Warfare, History of Violence, Laws of War, Reformation History, Religious Violence, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World, Women and Gender History | Leave a comment

D-Day 75th Anniversary

Posted on June 6, 2019 by briansandberg

Today is the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy during the Second World War.  So, the Second World War is front-page news today in news media around the world, and many of the reports have a direct link … Continue reading →

Posted in European History, European Union, French History, Historical Film, History of Violence, Museums and Historical Memory, War and Society, War in Film, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

Political Realism in Apocalyptic Times

Posted on April 25, 2019 by briansandberg

This week’s horrific Easter bombings in Sri Lanka remind us once again of the troubling presence of religious violence in today’s world. Alison McQueen recent book, Political Realism in Apocalyptic Times (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018), grapples with the politics … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Violence, Political Culture, Political Theory, Religious History, Religious Politics, Religious Violence, Renaissance Art and History, Strategy and International Politics, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

Last Doolittle Raider Dies

Posted on April 10, 2019 by briansandberg

Lt. Richard E. Cole, the last crewmember of the Doolittle Raiders, has died. Lt. Richard E. Cole, known as Dick Cole, was co-pilot on the lead plane, piloted by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle, during a bombing mission on Tokyo … Continue reading →

Posted in History in the Media, Maritime History, Strategy and International Politics, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society | 1 Comment

Occupation of Paris after the Napoleonic Wars

Posted on April 3, 2019 by briansandberg

My French history colleague and friend, Christine Haynes, discusses her new book on the occupation of Paris at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in a podcast of The Siècle. Christine Haynes’s book is entitled, Our Friends the Enemies: The … Continue reading →

Posted in Civilians and Refugees in War, Early Modern Europe, European History, French History, French Revolution and Napoleon, History of Violence, Paris History, Urban History, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment