Discusssion Questions
March 3, 2009

1. What is the image of the soldier represented in Recruitment: The Soldier Imagined ?  What does that representation tell us about the society which produced such an image?
2. What does the newspaper article tell us about the nature of warfare?  How does its perspective reconcile with the other sources?
3. What do the comments by Keegan tell us about the experience of war?
4. What do we learn about the soldier experience from Fussel?
5. How would you assess the source by Sassoon?  What does it tell us and how could it be used by a historian?  What are its assets and limitations as a source?
6. From those readings for this week, what do we learn about the nature of soldier, and the nature of the battle experience?
7. What did the photographs tell you about the soldier experience?  From what photograph did you learn something new, and what was it?

Questions for "Slaughter in the Mud":

1. Why was the battle of Passchendaele so deadly?    What were the factors which mad it so deadly?  What particular problems did the battle pose for the individual soldier?
2. What was one most significant new thing that you learned about the soldier experience from the movie?  Why do you think it is significant?
3. How does the documentary portrayal of battle, the soldier experience, etc. in Slaughter in the Mud compare to the written sources you have read to this point?  Think about specific comparisons.