Course syllabus Connectivity and Combat: War, the Media and the Contemporary Information Ecology
Swedish name: Uppkopplat krig – krig, medier och det moderna informationsekosystemet
Course code:
3KR0004
Valid from semester:
Spring Term 2024
Education cycle:
Third cycle
Scope:
7.5 credits
Progression:
undefined
Grading scale:
Two-grade scale
Main field of study:
Department:
Department of War Studies and Military History
Subject:
War Studies
Language of instruction:
The teaching is conducted in English.
Decided by:
Forsknings och utbildningsnämndens kursplaneutskott (KUS)
Decision date:
2023-11-21
Entry requirements
Admitted to a doctoral programme at a national or international university.
Course content and structure
The purpose of the course is to facilitate the doctoral student’s ability to analyze and problematize ‘the modern information ecology’: the revolution in how information is created and spread in contemporary warfare. The degree to which the world is presently connected has transformed how information is transmitted from the battlefield and made everyone a potential – if distant – participant in war. How can we analyze this relationship between the spread of information and resulting military practices? In the course we study how this radical transformation affects both how wars are fought and how we perceive war in the 2020s. Through studying several wars and conflicts, the doctoral student will analyze how military organizations function on the battlefield and how reporting, propaganda, and disinformation shape the conduct of war. Through lectures and self-study the doctoral student builds an understanding of the contemporary relationship between the information ecology and war. This relationship is analyzed and problematized in the seminars with a focus on how military practices and our understandings of war are affected. The course ends with an independently written assignment where the doctoral student synthesizes the literature using a critical and analytical approach.
Type of Instruction
Seminars
Lectures
Independent Literature Studies
Presentation
Type of Instruction
Seminars
Lectures
Independent Literature Studies
Presentation
Objectives
Upon completion of the course, the doctoral student should be able to:
Knowledge and understanding
Skills and abilities
Judgement and approach
Knowledge and understanding
- systematically map out the relationship between war and the information ecology, as well the effects of this relationship
- identify the contribution of the research area to War Studies
Skills and abilities
- analyze the central arguments and concepts about war within the framework of the information ecology
- problematise and critically evaluate the central arguments and concepts about war within the framework of the information ecology
- communicate how the relationship between war and the information ecology affects military practices, in both written and oral form
Judgement and approach
- assess contemporary and recent historical examples as well as theories about modern information ecologies through the application of relevant conceptual frameworks, theories, and methods or empirical examples.
Examination formats
Examination
Scope: 7.5
Grading Scale: Fail, Pass
The course is examined through active participation in compulsory seminars, oral presentations, and an independently written assignment.
Grading
The doctoralstudent is graded on a two-point grading scale: Fail (U) and Pass (G) To earn a grade of Pass (G), the doctoral student must earn a grade of Pass on the independently written assignment and on oral presentations, and active participation in the mandatory seminars.
Restrictions in Number of Examinations
There is no limit on the total number of examination opportunities.
Scope: 7.5
Grading Scale: Fail, Pass
The course is examined through active participation in compulsory seminars, oral presentations, and an independently written assignment.
Grading
The doctoralstudent is graded on a two-point grading scale: Fail (U) and Pass (G) To earn a grade of Pass (G), the doctoral student must earn a grade of Pass on the independently written assignment and on oral presentations, and active participation in the mandatory seminars.
Restrictions in Number of Examinations
There is no limit on the total number of examination opportunities.
Transitional provisions
Other regulations
The course cannot be included in a degree with another course whose content fully or partially corresponds to the content of this course.
If the Swedish Defence University has formally decided that the doctoral student is entitled to receive special educational support due to a disability, the examiner may decide on alternative forms of examination for the doctoral student. The course director will conduct an evaluation on the completion of the course, which will form the basis for any changes to the course.
This is an edited version of the syllabus, created to transfer the original to the education database Ladok education planning. For originals, refer to the archive.
If the Swedish Defence University has formally decided that the doctoral student is entitled to receive special educational support due to a disability, the examiner may decide on alternative forms of examination for the doctoral student. The course director will conduct an evaluation on the completion of the course, which will form the basis for any changes to the course.
This is an edited version of the syllabus, created to transfer the original to the education database Ladok education planning. For originals, refer to the archive.