How has America’s relationship with its armed forces evolved over the past 250 years? From Lexington and Concord to Kabul and the Caribbean, America’s military has played important roles in the nation’s history. This seminar will consider how those roles have and have not changed from the eighteenth-century to today. We’ll look at the Founders’ anxieties about standing armies, consider the role of the armed forces in Reconstruction, examine military support for integration at home, and ask what the tasks the military might find itself asked to perform in the coming years. This summer, we will meet three times for discussion seminars, followed by a fourth meeting that will serve as a launching pad for a conversation about the future. At stake: what should America’s relationship with its armed forces look like in the 21st century?
Wed, Jul 8, 5:30 – 7pm: Introductions; America’s Sense of Its Own Military
Wed, Jul 15, 5:30 – 7pm: The Armed Forces Abroad
Wed, Jul 22, 5:30 – 7pm: The Military at Home
Wed, Jul 29, 5:30 – 7pm: Review of past readings and a concluding discussion: How might the past help us understand the American armed forces’ relationship to society in the years to come, including the evolving role and public misconceptions of the National Guard, its relationship with law enforcement, and its place at the intersection of military service, domestic response, and veteran experience?
Our seminar meetings will be informal. We will distribute the reading selections over email and bring hardcopies to class. You’re encouraged to read a little before we meet, but don’t worry if you can’t get through everything. We’ll start each seminar with a brief introduction, followed by some time to review/read the texts in focus. The bulk of our time will then be spent in guided conversation.
This informal seminar is open to all Columbia affiliates and neighbors.
Separate registration required for each session.
Refreshments will be served.
About the Instructor: Nick Utzig is assistant professor of English in the Dept. of English and World Languages at West Point. He received his PhD from Harvard University, where his research focused on representations of war in English Renaissance literature. His scholarly work appears in Shakespeare Studies, Shakespeare Bulletin, and The Journal of War and Culture Studies. Before his PhD, Nick was a US Army aviation officer and served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Image: Jean-Baptiste-Antoine DeVerger, “American soldiers at the siege of Yorktown,” 1781 Image source