Postgraduate taught 

History MSc/PgDip

The American Way Of War HIST5021

  • Academic Session: 2023-24
  • School: School of Humanities
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Either Semester 1 or Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: No

Short Description

This course examines changing American notions of war over time, to both educate the students about the how the power of America has developed, the role it played in many international wars, and how it has accumulated the military that it has today. The course is divided into ten sessions, each dealing with a different aspects and developments of the American military power.

Timetable

10 x 2 hours

Excluded Courses

None.

Co-requisites

None.

Assessment

1 seminar presentation, to be accompanied by a 1,250 word seminar paper

1 essay of 3,000 words

Are reassessment opportunities available for all summative assessments? No

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

Course Aims

This course aims to:

■ expose the student to different notions of American war and warfare from the Revolution to the War on Terror.

■ develop students' methodological and chronological grasp of how American ideas have changed over this time period.

■ provide skills and knowledge that would prepare the student for further graduate work of an advanced kind.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

■ apply knowledge of War Studies as a discipline, and the nature of American notions of warfare during the period from the Revolution to today.

■ Identify and evaluate how the scholarly profession has discussed American notions of war and warfare

■ evaluate a high degree of proficiency in the use of sources from different disciplines in seminar discussions and written work.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.