Module Information
Course Delivery
Assessment
Due to Covid-19 students should refer to the module Blackboard pages for assessment details
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours | 50% |
| Semester Assessment | Essay (2,500 words) | 50% |
| Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay (2,500 words) | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of how the US intelligence community has developed.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of what functions it currently performs on behalf of the US Government.
3.Evaluate how important intelligence has been to American war-making, defence planning and foreign policy.
4. Outline methodological and historiographical problems in the study of intelligence.
Brief description
The aims of the module are to provide students with an understanding of how the US intelligence community serves the US Government and how it has developed since the latter part of the nineteenth century. The module will demonstrate to students how US Intelligence has assisted American war-making and defence planning, and how it has enabled the United States to influence political developments worldwide.
Content
The module examines the historical development and current activities of the US intelligence community. Within that framework, it examines: how intelligence has assisted the USA's armed forces in war; how it has assisted American defence planning; how it has assisted American foreign policy; the role that covert operations have played in American foreign policy; what role intelligence and covert operatons have played in domestic politics; and how the intelligence community is held accountable to the USA's political system.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | |
| Communication | Students will learn how to communicate their ideas verbally and in writing, and how to present their arguments most effectively. They will develop skills in using the many sources of information available to best advantage. They will learn to be clear in their writing and speaking, and to be direct about aims and objectives. They will learn to consider only that which is relevant to the topic, focus and objectives of their argument or discussion. Students will also be required to submit their written assessments in word-processed format and the presentation of work should reflect effective expression of ideas and good use of language skills in order to ensure clarity, coherence and effective communication. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Students will be required to undertake independent research in order to complete the assessed work for this module. This will involve utilizing a range of information sources, including core academic texts, journal articles, electronic publications, and online news sources. |
| Information Technology | Students will enhance their digital proficiency using Blackboard, where materials to support learning will be made available. Students will also develop skills in searching for, and assessing the validity of, online information sources as part of preparation for lectures, workshops and assessed tasks. Assessed work will be presented in electronic format, according to standard expectations. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Students will be given the opportunity to regularly reflect on their progress at the workshops taking place throughout the module. The module convener will provide students with questions on the module topics that will help guide self-reflection. The module is designed to hone and test skills of use to students in their working lives, particularly in speaking to small groups, listening, thinking and responding to the statement of others. Moreover, the written work requires students to write clearly and concisely, which is a common task in the workplace. Students will be encouraged throughout to reflect on their performance and to consider lessons for future application. |
| Problem solving | Creative problem solving will be one central goal of the module; the submission of an essay and preparation for seminar discussions will require that students develop independent research skills as well as problem solving skills. The ability of students to solve problems will be developed and assessed by asking them to: adopt differing points of view; organize data and estimate an answer to the problem; consider extreme cases; reason logically; consider similar cases; look for patterns; divide issues into smaller problems. |
| Research skills | The module aims to promote critical and analytical thinking within a context in which support and assistance is available from the module convenor and other students. Students will be expected to improve their own learning and performance by undertaking their own research and exercising their own initiative, including searching for sources and deciding how to answer assessed essay questions. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Students have the opportunity to develop, practice and test a wide range of subject specific skills that help them to understand, conceptualise and evaluate examples and ideas on the module. These subject specific skills include: • Collect and understand a wide range of data relating to the module. • Evaluate competing perspectives. • Apply a range of methodologies to contemporary political problems. |
| Team work | Students will undertake team exercises in the seminars. For some of the topics of this module, workshops will consist of small-group discussions where students will be asked to discuss as a group the core issues related to the workshop topic. These class discussions and debates form a significant part of the module, and will allow students to approach and examine a given topic through team work. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5