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HSY1160

World War II: the crushing of the Axis

Eleanor Hancock, Ian Copland and Bruce Knox

6 points
* Two lectures and one tutorial per week at Clayton, one 1.5-hour lecture and one 1.5-hour tutorial at Clayton and Peninsula
* Second semester
* Caulfield/Clayton/Peninsula

Objectives Students successfully completing this subject should obtain a grasp of key concepts in the history of World War II from 1942 and acquire an ability to canvass some of the key issues in the analysis of the war from 1942 on, and its aftermath.

Synopsis This subject, in conjunction with HSY1150, examines the origins, development and consequences of the first truly global conflict. The aim is to show how a world war destroyed the prewar order and gave birth to the world we know today. HSY1160 will examine the German and Japanese new orders, the war against the Jews, collaboration and resistance in Europe and Asia, the Allied counterthrusts from Midway, North Africa and Stalingrad to Allied victory in Europe and the Pacific, and the decision to use the atomic bomb; a concluding section will deal with the reshaping of the postwar world, cold war and decolonisation, and the consolidation of the postwar order.

Assessment Written exercises (2500 words): 50%
* Examination (2 hours): 40%
* Class participation/attendance: 10%

Preliminary reading

Taylor A J P The Second World War: An illustrated history Penguin, 1976

Prescribed texts

Keegan J The Second World War Penguin, 1990

Recommended texts

Calvocoressi P and others Total war 2 vols, rev. 2nd edn, Penguin, 1989

Thorne C The far Eastern war: States and societies 1941-45 Allen and Unwin, 1986


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Published by Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3168
Copyright © Monash University 1996 - All Rights Reserved - Caution
Authorised by the Academic Registrar December 1996