“Sweet is war to those who have never experienced it,” states the Latin proverb.
Central to the curriculum is this very disconnect, between those who have experienced war and those who have not. In addition to communing with veterans, we will analyze popular depictions of war, veterans, violence, and prisons in order to assess how military members, justice-involved people, and survivors of violence are understood in the public imagination versus how they in fact understand themselves and their realities.
Students will have in-person dialogue with both official and lay experts, including clinicians, veterans, military members, chaplains, and incarcerated people. Students will attend workshops at both the VA and a state prison.