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Explore the profound influences of World War I, the "Great War", which resulted in 16 million deaths and countless innovations that reshaped modern life. From tracer ammunition and mobile X-ray machines to everyday items like wristwatches and teabags, the war drove technological advancement amidst devastation. It also introduced societal challenges such as trench foot and shell shock, highlighting the darker consequences of conflict. This examination reveals how the war fostered a desire for change, revolution, and the complexities of modern civilization.
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English 436a NOVELS OF THE GREAT WAR Professor Stephen Ross | @ghostprof | saross@uvic.ca | 250.721.7237
Why the “Great” War? A Mills Bomb (hand grenade) biggest war in history to that time 16 million dead another 16 million wounded the “war to end war”
WWI gave us • tracer ammunition • mobile x-ray machines • maxi-pads • tissues • teabags • wrist watches • zippers machine guns tinned food aerial bombardment submarines tanks flamethrowers poison gas
It also gave us trenchfoot
It also gave us trenchfoot Shell Shock
It also gave us trenchfoot Shell Shock the first global pandemic of influenza
It also gave us trenchfoot Shell Shock the first global pandemic of influenza the twentieth century
Degeneration civilization “an old bitch gone in the teeth” ends “not with a bang, but with a whimper” decadence aestheticism miscegenation zionism The West was soft, weak, effeminate, fading, flabby, flaccid
Degeneration Oscar Wilde 1854-1900
craving for • violence • destruction • cleansing • purification • cauterization • purging • explosive change • revolution
craving for • violence • destruction • cleansing • purification • cauterization • purging • explosive change • revolution
Syllabus, Attendance, etc. • http://ghostprof.org/teaching/currentupcoming-courses/436afall2014 • attendance – you’ll be dropped if you don’t come today and Monday • (note to self: take attendance now) • (note to you: if I’m not taking attendance, remind me) • shorter version: buy the books, do the assignments, don’t cheat, come to class (please), talk to me (seriously) • let’s learn something