Download Conquering the World

Conquering
the World
What does that look like?
Why do I teach this
lecture?
“My dad doesn’t want me to
join the military because I’m
his only son. But I’ve watched
a lot of movies and cartoons
and stuff about the military. It
seems cool and I want to be a
part of that.”
-Humans of New York
For Thousands of Years…
 Prehistory
 Otzi (Iceman)
 The Kennewick Man
 Epics, ballads, legends, and histories of
glory.
 Beowulf
 The Bible
 Modern History
 Military Class
 Romanticize World Wars
 Today
 Medals and Heroes
IN Reality…
 Epics and ancient history
 Homer
 The Bible
 Neo-Assyrians (c. 900-600 BC)
 Alexander the Great
 Disease
In Reality…
 Modern History
 World War One
 Rape of Nanking
 World War Two
 Rwandan Genocide
 Bosnia-Herzogovina
Conquering Today
 Islamic State (IS)
RefugeesYork
fleeingin
IS, many of them
 HumansYazidi
of New
walked more than 12 km without food or
partnership
water. with the UN.
 Day they decided to leave
 Antenna repairman
 Going to Grandma’s
 Nicest man in town
 Zaatari Refugee Camp
Can there be glory in
war?
Glory is: public praise, honor, and
fame; something that brings praise or
honor to someone or something; the
height of prosperity or achievement.
-Merriam-Webster
 Stopping Genocide
 Nanking Safety Zone
 Real Heroes?
U.S. Army soldiers show German citizens the corpses
found in Buchenwald concentration camp.
Questions to Grapple
With:
 Is war good or bad?
 Can there be heroes?
 How do you decide when to go to war, or conquer another people?
 What makes humans do war?
 Is war an inherent part of humanity, something that we are taught, and/or
something we can overcome?
 What factors make war more/less likely?
 Does conquering another people always have to be accompanied by
brutality, rape, plunder, and innocent murder?