Publications
Borys, David. Review of Strangers in Arms: Combat Motivation in the Canadian Army, 1943-1945, by Robert Engen. in The Canadian Historical Review, Vol. 98, No. 1, March 2017.
Borys, David and Mathewman, Joshua. “Corporate Allies: Canadian Armed Forces and the use of Private Military, Security and Logistic Companies. Canadian Army Journal. Vol 16.2 2016. Winter 2016.
Borys, David. “The Little Institution that Could: The University of Alberta in the Great War” in The Frontier of Patriotism: Alberta and the Great War. Ed. Adriana Davies and Jeff Keshen. University of Calgary Press: Calgary. November 2016.
Borys, David. Review of Modern Warfare: Armed Groups, Private Militaries Humanitarian Organizations and the Law, ed. Benjamin Perrin. Canadian Military History. Spring 2015.
Borys, David. The (original) Crimean War: What You Need to Know. Toronto Star. March 7 2014.
Borys, David. Ten Momentous Canadian Battles. The Globe and Mail. Nov 11 2013.
Borys, David. Review of So Near So Far: The Public and Hidden Worlds of Canada-US Relations, by Geoffrey Hale. ACUNS, September 17, 2013. http://acuns.org/review-of-so-near-yet-so-far/
Borys, David. International Efforts by Private Military and Security Companies to adhere to Humanitarian and Human Rights Law. Issue Brief. Conference of Defence Associations Institute. May 2013. http://www.cdainstitute.ca/en/
Borys, David. The Employment of Private Military and Security Companies by Humanitarian Organizations. Issue Brief. Conference of Defence Associations Institute. April 2013. http://www.cdainstitute.ca/en/
Borys, David. Review of Warrior Nation: Rebranding Canada in an Age of Anxiety, by Ian McKay and Jamie Swift. Canadian Military History, March 28,2013. http://www.canadianmilitaryhistory.ca/category/the-journal-cmh/book-revi...
Borys, David. “Unsung Heroes: Canadian Civil Affairs in Northern France.” New Perspectives on Canada in the Second World War. Ed. Christine E. Leppard and Abraham M. Roof. Calgary, AB: Calgary Papers in Military and Strategic Studies, September, 2012.
Borys, David. “Crossing the Canal: Combined-Arms Operations at the Canal Du Nord, September-October 1918.” Canadian Military History Volume 20: 4, Autumn 2011. P 23-38.
Borys, David. “For the Empire, the Nation and the West: The University of Alberta’s Contribution to World War One.” Past Imperfect Journal 14: 3-28, Fall, 2008.
The First World War examined from a global perspective. The impact of technology, science, culture and society on the way the war was fought as well as an examination of the major events of the war itself.
The main focus of this course is on war as an engine of historical change from the late medieval age to modern times. It examines collective identities of social and cultural groups, nations, empires, and modern states in the context of war. We will analyze the concepts of limited vs. total war, and “conventional” vs. asymmetrical warfare. Our interdisciplinary approach to the subject involves exploring contemporary and historical debates about the nature of war, its causes, morality, and social, political, economic, and cultural functions.
David Borys is a Canadianist who specializes in Canadian Military History specifically examining the changing nature that warfare has wrought on Canadian society. He also produces the popular iTunes podcast Cool Canadian History, a bi-weekly podcast on everything and anything to do with Canadian history. You can find it on iTunes or at www.coolcanadianhistory.com
