POS 136: World Politics

Hedges Paper assignment, due April 2.

Note: You can choose to do a journal format instead of a paper if you wish.

Please provide a paper that answers the following questions fully.  You likely will need 6-8 pages double spaced to fully answer this question, but there is no page minimum or maximum.

In War is a Force that Gives us Meaning, Hedges contemplates both how brutal and inhumane war is, and how people somehow manage to mythologize it or use it as a way to find meaning in their lives.  Ultimately, he argues, this meaning is illusionary, since he believes war is based on inhumanity, and true meaning can only come from love defined as experience of true humanity.

Assess Hedges’ argument, and whether or not he makes his case successfully.  Ultimately, does Hedges’ approach give you hope (such as: war is an anomaly that we embrace out of a misunderstanding of what we need to have meaning) or pessimism (such as: humans are so easily drawn to the drama, addiction or abstraction of war that it will be hard to break the habit)?  How does his approach differ from the theories and discussions of war in the text, or in class?  How do the cases we discuss in class connect with the perspective he takes in his book?

You have considerable leeway in how you handle your paper.  As long as you show a depth of knowledge about Hedges' book (it should be clear you read and understand it) and connect it in some way with other class materials (though the emphasis should be on Hedges) you should do well.   Remember: this is NOT a text book, this is Hedges' personal opinion based on his experience.  While we should respect his experience, you do not have to agree with him, and can argue that his argument is misguided if you wish.