• Offered by Strategic and Defence Studies Centre
  • ANU College ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
  • Classification Advanced
  • Course subject Strategic Studies
  • Academic career PGRD
  • Course convener
    • Dr Jean Bou
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Offered in Second Semester 2020
    See Future Offerings

Some activities that form part of this course can be taken remotely or on-campus in Sem 2 2020. Check timetable for details. Group limits may apply.

This course analyses the use of military power to achieve strategic objectives. It explores the major trends in the conduct of military operations from 1800 to today. It details the theoretical and historical underpinnings for the use of armed force, the relationship between strategy, operations and tactics, the evolution of command systems and practice, and the challenge of political-military relationships. Of interest to those seeking better understanding of force as an implement of national policy, the course is particularly appropriate for students considering government service or other positions involving national and international security matters.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Identify the major trends in the conduct of military operations from 1800 to the present day and articulate the fundamentals of the major operational theories developed during this period.

2. Articulate the relationship between strategy, operations and tactics.

3. Analyse the conduct of military operations and identify the role which command practice, command systems, logistics, technology, geography, the political-military interface, and inter-service and coalition relationships play in determining their outcome.

4. Conduct historical research and critically evaluate historical evidence.

5. Express themselves clearly and eloquently in a variety of formats.

Indicative Assessment

• Seminar and Exercise Participation (10%): Students are assessed on their contribution to discussion, review of colleague oral presentations, and exercise participation.  This assessment contributes to learning outcomes 1-5.

• Short Assignment (25%): Students will write a review essay of 2,000 words (exclusive of footnotes/endnotes and bibliography) substantiating or debating an assigned topic.  This assessment contributes to learning outcomes 1-4.

• Evaluation of Colleague Short Assignment Draft (5%): Each student will be responsible for providing a colleague a written evaluation of her/his short assignment. This assessment contributes to learning outcomes 2,5.

• Oral Presentations (20%): Students will be required to deliver a presentation of between 8-10 minutes once during the course. Presentations will be either individual or in pairs. This assessment contributes to learning outcomes 3,4,5.

• Research Essay (40%): Each student will write a research essay of 4,000 words (exclusive of footnotes/endnotes and bibliography), selecting one of several topics offered. This assessment contributes to learning outcomes 1-4.

In response to COVID-19: Please note that Semester 2 Class Summary information (available under the classes tab) is as up to date as possible. Changes to Class Summaries not captured by this publication will be available to enrolled students via Wattle. 

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

Students undertaking this course should expect a workload of 10 hours per week.  This is inclusive of actual contact hours for lectures and also out of class preparation time.

Prescribed Texts

Core reading materials will be available online.

Assumed Knowledge

Undergraduate degree in security studies or related field

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
1
Unit value:
6 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2020 $4050
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2020 $5760
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

Second Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
8319 27 Jul 2020 03 Aug 2020 31 Aug 2020 30 Oct 2020 In Person View

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