COLT 49.12 Languages at War

Human languages have all it takes to serve the goals of peace, prosperity, and love. Instead, more often than not, they’re requisitioned in the service of warfare. In this course, we will explore why and how this happens and try to understand how wars can transform a single language and also affect dramatic changes between languages, breaking ties instead of making them. We will consider languages as instruments of war propaganda, tools of anti-imperial and anti-colonial counterinsurgency and liberation, and challenges to combat in multilingual armies. We will look at the roles of translators and interpreters, sometimes as proverbial traitors and at other times, as those who end up betrayed. And we will scrutinize the role of languages in the aftermath of war, at international criminal tribunals such as the Nuremberg Trials or the International Criminal Court in the Hague. The course will include two case studies, of Nazi Germany and of Russia’s war against Ukraine, as well as several case studies researched and presented by students in groups based on their language talents, commitments, and interests.

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Department-Specific Course Categories

Comparative Literature