Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 18 x 1 Hour Lectures |
| Seminar | 2 x 2 Hour Seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 1 x 2,500 word essay | 50% |
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours (1 x 2 hour exam) | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 1 x 2,500 word supplementary (resit) essay | 50% |
| Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours 1 x 2 hour supplementary (resit) examination | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1. demonstrate an understanding of the history of war and the different ways in which warfare had an impact on society during the modern period.
2. demonstrate an understanding of comparative perspectives on war and society in the modern period.
3. read, analyse and reflect critically on secondary and primary texts including contemporary media focusing on war in different national contexts.
Brief description
This survey module looks comparatively at the nature and impact on society of warfare during the modern period. It will introduce students to a broad range of interpretations of war and of war’s diverse impact. Major questions raised include the origins and meaning of war and war’s relationship to politics, culture and economics; changes in the ways wars are fought, both in terms of strategy and tactics and in terms of technology and organisation; the ways wars are communicated and remembered; and the relationship between civil and military society and the changing relationship between war and society in general.
Aims
The module aims to provide students with a deeper understanding of the complexity of modern warfare, in terms of its meaning, methods and impact on wider society. The module considers change and continuity in the nature and impact of war and the diverse ways in which modern conflicts have been understood, remembered, commemorated and represented over time.
Content
The coverage of the module begins in the 19th century, and the lectures will begin by considering developments in modern warfare and key themes such as the organization of war, war and technology, war and the media, and war and social change. A second set of lectures will expand upon these themes in relation to particular conflicts, such as the two world wars and the Vietnam War. A third set of lectures will look more broadly at themes such as the representation of war in film and the commemoration and memorialization of war, considered in relation to a selection of modern conflicts.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | Students will be presented with some statistical data during the lectures and the appropriate use of such statistics will form part of the assessment of the essays. |
| Communication | This skill will be developed through the two essays and the seminar discussions. This will be assessed as part of the essay assessment. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Essays will be returned in essay tutorials where advice will be given on improving students? research techniques and essay writing skills. |
| Information Technology | Students will be encouraged to locate suitable material on the web and to access information on CD Roms and to apply it appropriately to their own work. Students will also be encouraged to word process their work. These skills will not be assessed formally. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | This module will help develop written and oral skills. Other activities, including research, assessment of information and writing in a critical and clear manner, will further develop useful skills of analysis and presentation. |
| Problem solving | Students will be expected to identify and respond to historical problems and carry out appropriate research before the seminars and before writing essays. This will be assessed as part of the assessment of the essays |
| Research skills | These skills will be developed through the research students are expected to carry out before the seminars and for the essays. This will be assessed as part of the assessment of the essays. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Critical historical skills |
| Team work | Students will work together in seminar preparation and discussion |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6