Dividing “Case Topics” and “Case Studies”
Moving forward, Warfare Master Institute (WMI) plans to divide learning content into “case topics” and “case studies” much like the example diagram above. The larger case topic will provide a general framework of background knowledge and thinking. This will allow deeper examination of specific case studies that can achieve the level of detail necessary for true mastery. In short, the case topics provide the context for the case studies. This approach might seem obvious, but it is quite far from the way most military history books, learning materials and courses are organized.
Some of the most useful books on military history examine specific case studies in detail. However, in order to truly appreciate and benefit from a detailed case study, a reader must have an existing base of contextual knowledge. As a result, most case study books start out with an introductory section or “background” section that explains the larger strategic events and concepts that are necessary to make sense of the case study. However, there are two problems with relying on this short background chapter to provide context for a case study.
First, it is often impractical or inconvenient to make the background chapter long enough to actually provide an effective contextual base for deeper understanding. As a result, the background is often oversimplified or incomplete. This may not be a problem for knowledgeable scholars who have already read numerous books examining a topic at different levels. However, for someone who is exploring a subject for the first time, it would be useful to have a completely separate book (not just a chapter) to offer the contextual base of knowledge. This is exactly what we are trying to do by separating case topics and case studies.
The second problem emerges on the opposite end of the spectrum. When experienced scholars are reading numerous case studies within a specific topic, they end up having to read the same “background” section over and over in each book they pick up. Some readers might choose to skip these introductory sections. However, because not all books are structured in the same way, skipping an introduction might also mean missing valuable insights or information relevant to the specific case study in the book. Our dichotomy of case topics and case studies solves this problem as well. Scholars can use the case topic materials to brush up on any contextual knowledge they need and then build upon that base as they delve directly into individual case studies.
In the weeks, months and years to come, WMI will announce new case topics and begin developing carefully curated, “living” learning materials around each topic (for more explanation on how WMI designs “living” learning content click HERE). We will not release completed case topics all at once but instead add new materials incrementally over time. As case topics begin to take shape, WMI then announce case studies within each topic. One of our main goals at WMI is to build an engaged, virtual community of scholars and professionals, so any recommendations from our readers and/or members will weigh heavily in our decisions for what topics to frontload. We will shortly post an update on our STATUS UPDATES BOARD to announce our first case topic and provide a general overview of why we think it is a good place to start our journey to warfare mastery.
