Examines the importance of the experience of war in shaping Australia; its contribution to definitions of nationality, ethnicity, citizenship, masculinity and femininity; the extent to which it has defined and/or redirected Australia's relationships with her allies from the colonial period to Vietnam. Focuses on the battle zones and looks at the way that participants understood and represented the experience of war, drawing on literature and film, personal letters and diaries, reminiscences and oral interviews as well as official records. Includes an optional field trip to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.