Postgraduate Course: The Contemporary Theory of War (online) (PGHC11526)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | War is the most demanding of all human endeavours. Devising strategies and waging war has preoccupied leaders, states, and intellectuals since antiquity. This course examines major developments in the history of strategic thought and the refinement of military doctrine in the process of analysing how war is theorised in the contemporary world. |
| Course description |
This course examines the way in which war is conceptualised in the contemporary world, principally in the United States and Great Britain but elsewhere as well. It analyses important thinkers from the history of strategic thought in order to probe the diverse ways in which strategy has been theorised. The course then considers how different elements, and dimensions, of warfare have been studied and conducted. In assessing the nature and practice of war, students will sharpen their grasp of conceptual frameworks and the relationship between theory and evidence.
Content note: This course will expose students to a considerable variety of approaches in the field of strategic history, including, but not limited to, war and the study of strategy. Students taking the course need to be prepared to engage with historical actors on their own terms and grapple with ideas and movements with which they may personally disagree. Engaging with a diverse range of viewpoints is integral to the study of History at a university. Seminars on the course often range widely, and discussion will proceed in a free and spontaneous fashion.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 14 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Online Activities 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework:
One 4,000-word essay (80% of the overall grade)
Two discussion forum posts per week (20% of the overall grade) |
| Feedback |
Students are expected to discuss their coursework with the Course Organiser at least once prior to submission, and are encouraged to do so more often. Meetings can take place with the Course Organiser during their published office hours or by appointment. Students will also receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate competence in core skills in the study of History: essay-writing, independent reading, and group discussion in various online forms;
- show detailed knowledge of themes related to the contemporary theory of war;
- plan and execute a substantial written analysis of concepts related to the contemporary theory of war;
- evaluate and apply recent critical debates in the study of strategy, politics, and war;
- demonstrate the ability to reflect critically on a variety of critical and methodological approaches to the way in which war is conceptualised and discussed.
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Reading List
1. Thucydides, Peloponnesian War.
2. N. Machiavelli, The Princeand The Art of War.
3. Sun Tzu, The Art of War.
4. C. Clausewitz, On War.
5. C. Gray,Modern Strategy (1999).
6. E. Luttwak, Strategy (2001).
7. S. Biddle, Military Power (2004).
8. J. House, Combined Arms Warfare in the Twentieth Century (2001). |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Skills in research and analysis
Oral communication skills, through live seminar participation
Written communication skills, through the writing of a 4,000-word essay and weekly discussion forum posts |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Robert Crowcroft
Tel: (0131 6)50 3764
Email: R.G.Crowcroft@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Lindsay Scott
Tel: (0131 6)50 9948
Email: Lindsay.Scott@ed.ac.uk |
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