21H.214  War and American Society

Hello everyone. I'm writing with a short update about readings and discussion for our final class meeting on Monday December 12. We will focus on the readings that we did not get to discuss last week: Joby Warrick's Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS. We'll focus mostly on the first and last third of the book: the Prologue, and Chapters 1-2 and 5-7 which is pages 1-45 and 72-98, and Chapter 17-end, which is pages 223-323. The Jeffrey Goldberg article on "The Obama Doctrine" makes for a good comparison to the Warrick reading.

I cut most of the readings that we had planned for this coming week (although they are still on the Materials page if you are interested in topics such as cyberwar or American Sniper). But there are two VERY short articles worth reading: the first is an essay by the anthropologist Margaret Mead, published in 1940, considering whether war is part of "human nature"; and the other is a recent New York Times article exploring the long-term changes that artificial intelligence will bring to warfare. They seem like a good pair with which to end the semester.

As a reminder, I'll be having office hours on the 2d floor of Hayden Library on Sunday from 5-7pm. If you know you are coming, let me know. I am also having office hours on Monday morning (email me to set up a time), which will only really be helpful for those of you who may be taking an extension on the paper. I will also keep up with paper-related emails later today and early tomorrow.

Chris.

Hello, everyone. A couple of you have written asking for clarification about the research papers, so I'm sending answers to questions to everyone so that you all have the information.

First of all, the basics. The paper should be 8-10 pages with 1" margins and 12-point font. Pictures and graphs and such don't really count, but I also won't be measuring your paper with a ruler. The point is to write a sustained (but short) research paper. If you are done, you can bring it to class on Monday and hand it in, or upload it to the portal on Stellar. Don't worry if you already put your paper prospectus on Stellar - I'll be able to distinguish them.

Wait, what do you mean, "If you are done"? As you know, because our class does not have a final, I cannot assign work after the last class on Monday December 12. But I am much more interested in reading good work than rushed work and I know that week is a headache for you in many of your other subjects. I am amenable to extensions up to the study day of December 15, but I'm not really allowed to go past that. If you think you will want (or need) an extension, be in touch. If you don't turn the paper in on the 12th and don't contact me, I will start to worry about whether you are okay.

As I mentioned in my Sunday night email, I'm having lots of office hours this week - including with the History Librarian in Hayden in just a few minutes! These are of course totally optional, to help with your paper and to make up for cancelling Monday night's class. If you can't make them work, don't worry, and feel free to be in touch with me (or the librarians) via email. All but four of you have heard from me today about your papers, the other four will hear from me soon.

Chris.

Hello, all. Sorry to write so late but knowing that many of you are up at this hour I wanted to write as soon as possible, with what I believe to be bad news and I hope you do too, but perhaps you will find a bit of a relief. A snowstorm in the midwest has made it so that I can't get back in time for our class tomorrow evening. So, we will not meet.

But ... an alternate plan. I will be able to catch up with people via email about their paper topics, which are developing nicely. I also plan to have lots of office hours, the schedule of which is below. The library office hours are just drop-ins - if you want to meet individually it's good to set up an appointment just so that you don't have to trek over to E51-284 and wait around.

I hope you have been reading Joby Warrick's Black Flags. We will of course discuss that next week in our last regular meeting, along with Jeffrey Goldberg's article on "The Obama Doctrine." I will try not to double on the reading for December 12 knowing that you are writing your research papers for that week. And yes, I actually have your second papers, which I can give you in person or send back when I am next near a scanner, likely Tuesday morning.

My deepest apologies. But do me a favor and make a plan on how you will use the three hours of tomorrow night consciously: you will know whether they are best spent working on our class, another class (to free up time to work on our class later), or sleeping. Do not spend three hours watching cat videos or Monday Night Football.

Chris.

OFFICE HOURS
Tuesday December 6
10am-noon
2-3:45pm
** 4-6pm: Library Office Hours: I will be at one of the tables on the 2d floor of Hayden Library, along with Ece Turnator, who is the History reference librarian. Bring your paper ideas and your laptop for research assistance.
Wednesday December 7
12:30-2:30pm
Thursday December 8
9-10am
11am-noon
6:30-7:30pm
Friday December 9
Any time before 2:30pm
Sunday December 11
** 5-7pm: Library Office Hours: I will be at one of the tables on the 2d floor of Hayden Library (the librarian can not join that evening). Bring your paper ideas and drafts for last-minute writing advice.

Hello, all. I'm writing with some guidance on the readings and discussion for next week in 21H.214. Our focus will be on recent conflicts in Syria and the rise (and fall?) of the Islamic State movement (ISIS). There are two readings. The first is Joby Warrick's Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, which is one of the required books for our class. If you did not pick it up at The Coop earlier this term, you may want to get it at a bookstore or read it on reserve at Hayden Library.

In an ideal world, you should read as much of it as you want, but it is long and this is a busy time of year. Our discussions this coming will be on the Prologue, and Chapters 1-2 and 5-7 which is pages 1-45 and 72-98. Next week (the last week) we will discuss Chapter 17-end (pp. 223-323), so if you are on a roll, just keep reading.

But in the meantime, there is one other reading on the Stellar site: Jeffrey Goldberg, "The Obama Doctrine." This is probably the best insider account we have of decisionmaking within the White House about U.S. foreign policy, especially in the Middle East. Definitely read this one too.

More news coming separately about papers and additional office hours, but I wanted to send this out asap.

Chris.

Hello, all. I hope that you had a good Thanksgiving, a relaxing break, and safe travels to and from wherever you went.

I'm writing with some revised readings and guidance for discussion for this coming week. We will focus on three topics, with several short readings, all of which are on the Materials page of the Stellar site.

(1) First, we will discuss "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk." I've posted the discussion questions that I wrote up ahead of time, and I've done some additional research to figure out what the director (Ang Lee) was trying to do. Whether he was successful, we can discuss tomorrow.

(2) Second, we will discuss how the US military has changed since the All-Volunteer Force and since the end of the Cold War. I will give a little background lecture, and I moved the Beth Bailey essay down to November 28. If you did not read it for October 31, read it now. Our other primary readings are Sarah Stillman's essay "The Invisible Army," on the use of Third Country Nationals as civilian laborers, and the brief radio interview that yours truly did with Colorado Public Radio in the fall. Our discussion question, which you should come to class at least having thought about: "Should Selective Service registration be abolished? Or expanded to include 18-year-olds of all genders?"

(3) Third, and based on suggestions you gave me a couple of weeks ago, we will end with an exploration of the overlap between the military and domestic policing. We will do this collaboratively as a group project, which we will start this week and finish next week. There are several optional readings on the Stellar site. The one that everyone should read (sorry to spring this on you at the last minute but it is VERY short) is the Congressional Quarterly summary sheet on the question "Are US Police Departments Becoming Dangerously Militarized?"

The syllabus says that you will watch and discuss American Sniper, but we have spent a lot of time on film lately and need to discuss some of these other topics. We will return to Sniper for the week of December 12, so if you watched the film on your wown or read the Roy Scranton essay, you have banked up work that will come due later this term.

See you tomorrow!

Chris.