Narratives of Conflict

Narratives of Conflict is a course that allowed me to learn and reflect on the different narratives and perspectives of various wars or conflicts. These conflicts involved internal conflicts (i.e., gender, socioeconomic, political, religious, or ethnic) or global conflicts. Each of the conflicts discussed examined the layers within each disparity and how each conflict was responded to. The overarching theme for this class was to gain an understanding of how war shapes culture, the way in which war is depicted (through the means of propaganda, etc.), how truthful the depictions of war are (reality or mythic), motivations for war, the impact of war on a community, culture, individual, or country, and the various perspectives in which a war is observed from.

This course was sectioned off into three major conflicts or wars: World War I, The Vietnam War, and The Bosnian War. Each of these wars provided insight into how war differs from situation to situation and how each country approaches the conflict at hand. Prior to delving into one of the three conflicts, we read a book called War is A Force That Gives Us Meaning. This book was the perfect segway into the conflicts we discussed because it examined different conflicts, the perpetuation of war and conflict and how war, while it is a force of evil, can also provide some people with a sense of meaning and purpose. This book perfectly encapsulates the complexity of conflict; some may see war as a black and white operation, it is in fact not. Each of these units closely observed the historical implications involved in the development of conflict.

While discussing World War I,  we read the book All Quiet on the Western Front and watched the movie 1917. Both the book and the film were fundamental in my understanding of WWI. These media forms showed the propaganda being perpetuated by every political entity involved in the way (most forms of propaganda were used to increase nationalism and encourage young men to join the military movement). This use of propaganda resulted in forms of patriotism and nationalism and encouraged young men to support their country with military backing, even if their country was in support of controversial actions. Examining this war also showed me the ways in which war has developed over the years, especially pertaining to types of fighting. WWI used trench warfare and had men fighting on the ground with guns and bayonets. The use of both types of media furthered my understanding of the conflict because they were shown from different perspectives and resulted in different portrayals of the war; a movie could more easily visually encompass the war whereas the book described the war from a soldier’s thoughts and perspectives.

For the Vietnam unit, we read The Things They Carried and watched The Vietnam War documentary done by Ken Burns. The way the war was depicted was a heavily influential part of this conflict. At the beginning of the war, Americans did not have a full understanding of the horrors and complexity of what was occuring in Vietnam. Once the truth was revealed, they protested. This protesting was also facilitated by the fact that Americans were being drafted into the war when they didn’t want to be. This conflict was interesting to learn about because the motivations for staying in Vietnam were ambiguous and not clear to people. Another topic observed in Vietnam was the intention of preventing the spread of Communism, but American governments enforced Democracy in a place that didn’t necessarily need it. This war displayed the relationship between strong external powers, excessive force, historical context, and taking advantage of influence. 

To examine the Bosnian Conflict, we read the graphic novel Safe Area Gorazde and watched the movie Quo Vadis, Aida?. This conflict showed the relationship between ethnic, religious, and cultural differences or similarities and how these classifications lead to othering, genocide, and ethnic cleansing. Neighbors swiftly turned into enemies due to propaganda perpetuated by nationalistic leaders. This conflict also examined the role of external influences and whether or not it is their job to intervene in times of crisis. This topic also examined how countries can return to normal after a genocide. The Bosnian Conflict is important to discuss now, given what is happening in Israel and Palestine. 

This class taught me how to look at the historical implications of a conflict or situation to inform my understanding of a conflict, and solutions to the conflict. I have learned about the importance of approaching a conflict from every perspective. I learned to gain as much knowledge as I can about varying narratives and how different narratives can shift the understandings of a conflict. 

The first picture above shows the trench warfare from World War I, the second picture depicts the Vietnam War, and the third picture portrays the Bosnian Conflict.

The first picture below is the movie cover of 1917, the second picture shows the movie cover for All Quiet on the Western Front, and the third picture is movie cover for Quo Vadis, Adia?