University of Stellenbosch Department of Languages and Culture

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SUBJECT GROUP ENGLISH STUDIES (MIL)English Studies comprises two modules, English 114 offered in the first semester to all first-year students, and English 144 offered in the second semester to those students whose programmes allow them access to this course.

English 114: The purpose of this module is to provide students with reasoning, critical thinking and general linguistic tools that will allow them to seek and explore statements and opinions for both linguistic and factual correctness. Through a core text on Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric, augmented by various language and logical reasoning texts, sample texts such as newspaper articles, television texts, printed and electronic media, poetry, song, and political writing and speaking, students are guided in communicating successfully in all disciplines by selecting and using language carefully, purposefully and cogently, thus based on shared, generally accepted, factually sound logical understanding.

English 144: Following on the first semester module, this module focuses on language use in an academic-professional context, with particular reference to the study and work environment of a DoD professional who serves the global, continental, regional and national imperatives of the organisation. To this end it pursues the following objectives:

1. To identify from texts the manifest relationship between power, culture and meaning.
2. To self-search ways in which people (corporately an/or individually) control and often abuse others through language in all spheres of life, and how it impacts on global, continental, regional and national security.
3. To critically consider and reconsider the manner in which language users think, speak and write about people, ideas and things, and how it impacts on global, continental, regional and national security.
4. To further hone students’ critical and cogent listening to, and reading, speaking and writing about academic matters through English, the thread language of the DoD.

The generic outcomes for the English Studies Course are:
Problem Identification and Problem Solving: The student’s ability to critically identify and solve problems is developed through regular assignments and class discussions during which problems are identified, researched and critically responded to.

Group Work: Students’ ability to function and communicate in a group is enhanced through regular open class discussions and debates, as well as group discussions and debates.
Self-organisation and Self-management: These competencies are honed and evaluated through regular assignments, and group and individual class discussions or presentations.
Information Management: Students are expected to gather, critically analyse, organize, evaluate and interpret information, and provide mostly written, but also oral feedback from various sources of a diverse nature.
Science and Technology Application: Students are exposed to teaching and learning through contemporary technology, and are expected to apply their continuously developing technological skills in the finding and reproduction of information relevant to this course.

Holistic View / World View: Material for this course is fully interdisciplinary and international. Students are challenged to contextualize information globally, continentally, regionally, nationally, and ultimately personally to internalise scientifically researched facts and realities, and to critically scrutinise world views and individual macro and micro affiliated believes and truths.

Self-development: This course continuously challenges individuals to do critical self-analysis, to consider the individual human footprint in contemporary and future context.

PURPOSE OF SUBJECT GROUP ENGLISH STUDIES (MIL)

The purpose of the subject group is to equip DoD employees, in particular SANDF officers, with disciplinary knowledge, skills and attitudes relevant to their contemporary professional application as guided and directed by the vision and mission of the Faculty of Military Science which serves the academic-professional vision and mission of both its academic head, Stellenbosch University, and its professional master, the DoD.

Consequently, the future expansion of the academic offer of the Department of Languages to include an increase in both depth (second and third year level English) and width (regional and international languages and associated cultures of strategic significance) will remain on relevant institutional agendas.