Freshman and Sophomore Programs

The Face of Battle Instructor(s): Scott Sagan Prerequisites: None
Our understanding of warfare often derives from the lofty perspective of political leaders and generals: what were their objectives and what strategies were developed to meet them? This top-down perspective slights the experience of theactual combatants and non-combatants who are caught in the crossfire. This course focuses on the complexity of the process by which strategy is translated into tactical decisions by the officers and foot soldiers on the field of battle. We will focus onthree important battles in American history: Gettysburg (July 1863), the Battle of Little Bighorn (June 1876), and Mogadishu (October 1993).In addition to reading major works on these battles, we will travel to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and the Little Bighorn battlefield in Montana. The course’s battlefield tours are based on the “staff rides” developed by the Prussian Army in the mid- 1800s and employed by the U.S. Army since the early 1900s. While at Stanford students will do extensive research on one of the primary participants at Gettysburg and the Little Bighorn. Then, as we walk through the battlefield site, students will brief the group on their experience of battle and on why they made the decisions they did during the conflict. Why did Lt. General Longstreet oppose the Confederate attack on the Union Army at Gettysburg? What was the experience of a military surgeon on a Civil War battlefield? Why did Custer divide his 7th Cavalry troops as they approached the Little Bighorn River? What was the role of Lakota Sioux women after a battle? We will end our journey at the Pentagon, where students will discuss theplanning and execution of the raid on Mogadishu to study the modern face of battle. Note: Students will arrive on campus and will be housed at Stanford until we leave for Little Bighorn and Washington, D.C. Travel will be provided and paid by Sophomore College (except incidentals) and is made possible by the support of the Center for International Security and Cooperation and generous donors.

Scott D. Sagan is professor of political science and co-director of Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC). Before joining the Stanford faculty in 1987, he taught at Harvard University and served as the special assistant to the director of the organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon. He is a specialist on nuclear weapons and inter-national security. His books include: Moving Targets; The Limits of Safety; and The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Renewed (with Kenneth Waltz). He is the recipient of Stanford’s 1996 Hoagland Prize for Undergraduate Teaching, the 1999 Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching, and the 2008 International StudiesAssociation’s Innovative Teaching Award. His distant relative, Major General George E. Pickett, led the final Confederate charge at Gettysburg.