War has been a central feature of human history and requires study by historians from many different vantage points. Come the twenty-first century the history of strategy, military affairs and institutions has been enriched by new perspectives from economic history, cultural history, histories of gender, race, emotions, and class, global and international history, environmental history, and histories of science and technology. The Sir Michael Howard Centre recognizes that are all vital components of study if we are to obtain a fuller picture of the profound impact of war on the history of the development of human societies.

In the 1960s the distinguished historian Sir Michael Howard had a vision for a new kind of history of war; it would be studied in all its complexity and seek also to examine how the history of war affected history in general. In keeping with the pioneering legacy of its namesake, the Sir Michael Howard Centre promotes the scholarly history of war in all its dimensions, trains research students, hosts research projects and conferences and supports post-doctoral and visiting fellows. We study the history of war from the ancient world to the recent past and explore all of its myriad dimensions, warfare on land at sea and in the air, through the economic and social transformations wrought by war,  to the personal and intimate lived experiences of those who fought in or were affected by wars, and the memory and consequences of conflict .

The contemporary policy relevance of historical sources, methods, and expertise is also reflected across the social sciences, in law and in other disciplines. The Centre foregrounds this applied dimension in its attention to the practicalities of documenting war as well as the analytical challenges of understanding it.

The Centre builds on existing strengths such as the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, the Hobson Library and Archive at the UK Defence Academy and a number of successful research sub-groups, such as the Second World War Research Group. At its heart is a vibrant and inclusive community of nationally and internationally recognised senior and junior scholars, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students. Altogether, we provide authoritative expertise in the history of war and its related fields based in the Departments of War Studies, Defence Studies, History and beyond.

 

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