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Military History has a long tradition. For many decades, together with political History, it represented the core of historiographical approaches to 20th Century, especially the traditional ones. At the same time, for its own specific features, it was often seen as a partial and too technical branch of History, because of its contents and because of the sectors – academic and not – that produced it, and were its receivers.
The CEHI and the GRUP DE RECERCA i ANÀLISI DEL MÓN ACTUAL (GRANMA), on the other hand, believe that it is necessary to reconsider military History as an indispensable instrument to achieve a valid interpretation of contemporary age historical processes; not to isolate this branch, but to integrate it in a global approach that could consider not only the armed conflicts, but also the role that armed corps and military technology played – and keep on playing – in Contemporary History.
It is for this reason that the study day “Soldiers, bombs and rifles. Military History of 20th Century. A tribute to Professor Gabriel Cardona”, because of its “generalist” approach – the analysis of the most important armed conflicts of 20th Century – and because of the prestige of the invited speakers, has been conceived to become a point of reference, that could start a productive cooperation between military History specialists, other historians and general public.
The study day (with a simultaneous interpretation service) is scheduled on April 18th, 2012, and will be divided in four thematic areas, that will lead to four sessions of conference and discussion, respectively dedicated to First World War; to military espionage as a distinctive operating form for the armed corps in 20th Century; to Second World War and, finally, to Spanish Civil War. The conferences that will structure the sessions will be held, respectively, by professors Fortunato Minniti (Università Roma Tre); Giuseppe Conti (Università La Sapienza, Rome); Allan Millet (University of New Orleans) and Joan Villarroya (Universitat de Barcelona). All of them are first-rate personalities in military History and, at the same time, authors of works of great impact, both in academia and the public in general.
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