The theme for the 2026 Veterans in Society conference is "Remembering and Forgetting." The conference will welcome veterans studies scholars, educators, practitioners, and allies to examine how veterans are remembered across eras, geographies, and societies. During the conference's seventh biennial meeting, topics of discussion will include: (1) the impact of remembrances on public perception and veteran identities; (2) how memorialization practices shape collective memory and the narratives surrounding military service; the role of art, literature, and media in commemorating veterans and their experiences; (3) the complexities of inclusion and exclusion in the commemoration of veterans and other military-connected individuals (including military families), and; (4) how remembering and forgetting are informed by the histories, theories, methodologies, and communities within the discipline of veterans studies.
CVTI Director of Education, R.J. Jenkins, looks forward to participating in the panel: Revisiting Veteran Critical Theory at Ten Years: VCT as a Framework for Resisting, Rectifying, and Rebuilding at the invitation of Dr. Glenn Phillips, the co-creator of Veteran Critical Theory, a theoretical framework that provides insight into how higher education can analyze structures and systems that affect veterans.