University of St Andrews

Key information

SCOTCAT credits : 60

ECTS credits : 30

Level : SCQF level 10

Semester: Full Year

Availability restrictions: Not automatically available to General Degree students

Planned timetable: Wed 9.30am - 12.30pm

A rich body of evidence has emerged over the last 2,500 years concerning the moral challenges posed by warfare. Through Classical Greece and Rome to the early Church and the Middle Ages, the justice of war has been debated in theology, philosophy, and jurisprudence. This has come to be identified as the Western Just War Tradition, and its fundamental principles remain central to contemporary international law and the laws of armed conflict. This module will explore how ideas about justifiable warfare developed, and how certain norms emerged which were intended to regulate or limit violent conflict. Students will examine how such theories, rules, and laws were espoused, and the degree to which they were observed or ignored in practice. The module will challenge students by approaching the subject from various angles, including intellectual history, political theory, and politico-military history.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisite(s): null

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact: A 3-hour weekly seminar (x11 weeks), 1 optional office hour (x 11 weeks)

Scheduled learning hours: 66

Guided independent study hours: 534

Assessment pattern

As used by St Andrews: 2 x 2 hour Written Examinations = 40%, Coursework = 60%

As defined by QAA
Written examinations : 40%
Practical examinations : 0%
Coursework: 60%

Re-assessment: New Coursework: 1 x source exercise (2,500 words) and 1 x 5,000-word essay = 100%

Personnel

Module coordinator: Dr R W S C Cox
Module teaching staff: Dr Rory Cox
Module coordinator email rwscc@st-andrews.ac.uk