A History of War – ii Salon Series with Anna Gát – Part 1: “What is War?”

About the series:

After her popular Salon series History of Love, Interintellect founder Anna Gát returns to complete the picture: how the history of conflict and warfare underpinned our journey from wilderness-dwellers into masters of complex civilisations – our conquest of the world and our complicated march toward progress.

We will discuss war both as a catalyst and as an obstacle, as a merciless clarifier of priorities and an aimless creator of confusion and suffering.

More casual living room discussions than academic lectures, in this Interintellect Salon series we’re invited to bring our own knowledge, readings and assessments to the table.

We will ask questions like: Why do people wage wars? Are wars inevitable? Could there have been a history without war? Will the future be peaceful…?

Each of the series’ episodes, which will largely follow historical chronology, will focus on a specific area of warfare: planning and attack, defence and reconstruction, retaliation and aftermath – but we’ll also look at how war strategy and intelligence work, as well as the powerful role of the media.

Some suggested readings should be completed, but no preliminary expertise is required: just bring your curiosity and openness, and let’s discuss this fascinating topic!

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Part 1: What is War?

In this first episode we will discuss the fundamentals, and clarify theterms, categories and frameworks we will use for tackling the complicated topics in this series:

What war is and isn’t. The cultural meaning of war. Evolutionary theories of warfare and the psychology of group aggression. War as the stuff of epics and blockbuster movies. The development of the national sentiment. War as a political tool at home, and a vehicle of wealth abroad. Auxiliary progress in monetary policy, applied science and medicine as side-effects of war. Global secular – postwar – justice. The military as social equaliser and mobility ensurer. The difference between war and insurrection, policing and invasion, mercenary activity and national defence. Secret wars and alleged wars that never happened.

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Buy the series ticket: HERE

Ticket series holders will be invited to the Interintellect community forum on Discord, and enjoying many perks including discounts for events, members-only gatherings, and more!

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Readings:

• https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/the-world-today/2020-12/interview-margaret-macmillan
• https://tim.blog/2016/05/22/sebastian-junger/
• https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/shell-shock#
• https://reviews.history.ac.uk/review/972
• https://theoryofmusic.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/music-in-platos-republic/
• https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/11/magazine/survivor-guilt-veteran.html

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Time zones:

11:00 am in San Francisco
2:00 pm in New York
7:00 pm in London
8:00 pm in Paris
9:00 pm Johannesburg

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You will be sent a Zoom link in your event ticket email.

Apply for a student discount at hello@interintellect.com.

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Photo source.