The course will provide students with a historical understanding of command at a variety of levels by looking at various types of battle scenarios, both strategic and tactical. The course will take an international perspective as well as a chronological one, but will rely primarily on Anglo-American case studies, the colonial struggles of the 19th century, the retreat from empire, the two world wars and the recent actions in the Gulf. As well as providing historical lessons, students will be challenged to solve universal command problems still applicable to modern warfare, and thus provides a transferable skill in both a specific sense - useful for anyone contemplating a career in the armed forces - and in a generic sense it will stimulate the skills needed to deconstruct and solve problems logically while taking account of a variety of factors and perspectives.
Total contact hours: 30
Private study hours: 270
Total study hours: 300
Main assessment methods:
Essay 1 3,000 words 30%
Essay 2 3,000 words 30%
Presentation 15 minutes 20%
Thematic Timed Essay 1,000 words
Reassessment methods:
Reassessment Instrument: 100% coursework
The University is committed to ensuring that core reading materials are in accessible electronic format in line with the Kent Inclusive Practices.
The most up to date reading list for each module can be found on the university's reading list pages (https://kent.rl.talis.com/index.html).
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
The intended subject specific learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1. Acquire a firm grasp of the historiography of the topic and of shifts in the attitudes towards, and demands of, senior military commanders.
2. Demonstrate a broad conceptual command of the study of military leadership, and a thorough and systematic understanding of the latest research on the subject.
3. Demonstrate their capacity to assess and critically engage with a wide range of primary sources, both visual and written.
4. Demonstrate independent learning skills by being able to make use of a wide range of high-level resources, including up-to-date research in peer-reviewed journals, information technology, relevant subject bibliographies and other primary and secondary sources.
5. Acquire the ability to analyse key texts and other materials critically at a high level.
The intended generic learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1. Enhance their ability to express complex ideas and arguments using a variety of methods, skills which can be transferred to other areas of study and employment.
2. Enhance communication, presentational skills and information technology skills.
3. Demonstrate the acquisition of an independent learning style when engaging with the course content, for example in the preparation and presentation of course work, in carrying out independent research, in compiling bibliographies and other lists of research materials, by showing the ability to reflect on their own learning and by mediating complex arguments in both oral and written form.
4. Analyse, discussed, deconstructed and demonstrated cogent understanding of central texts and, subsequently, assembled and presented arguments based on this analysis; by virtue of this process, students will also have gained an appreciation of the uncertainty and ambiguity which surrounds the core themes of this module.
5. Approach problem solving creatively, and formed critical and evaluative judgments about the appropriateness of these approaches.
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