Photo By Ray Bahner | U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet 1st Class Javin Bostic listens to Dr. Thomas McGuire’s...... read more read more
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By Randy Roughton
U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Cadets explore the human side of conflict beyond the battlefield through the lenses of multiple mediums in the Department of English and Fine Arts’ War Literature and Film course.
Each semester, U.S. Air Force Academy English professor Dr. Thomas McGuire carefully selects diverse works from literature and film for cadets to study. The goal is to develop their critical thinking, empathy and understanding of the human condition during wartime. The works examine the role storytelling plays in public perceptions and raise questions about the responsibilities of authors and filmmakers.
English 411 aligns with the Academy’s educational outcome of The Human Condition, Cultures and Society. The cadets consider the purpose of war stories in the human condition and how they serve cultures. Often, these stories become “survival handbooks,” McGuire said.
“We are interested in how war informs, shapes and alters culture,” McGuire said. “Courses such as the English 411 course provide an opportunity to put a human face on war. A course like this is an integral and essential part of officer formation.”
The elective course covers four important areas of the wartime experience: (1) the warfighter’s experiences, (2) leadership decisions and consequences, (3) female voices, and (4) civilian perspectives.
Cadets examine memoirs and novels to explore the moral dilemmas and traumas warfighters experience. They analyze works such as Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried,” Erich Maria Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front,” and Alex Kershaw’s “The Liberator.” Kershaw’s book tells the story of Felix Sparks’ 500-day odyssey from Sicily’s beaches to the liberation of Dachau.
Cadets also study the exploits of other Soldiers, such as Louis Zamperini, a World War II prisoner of war whose story is told in the film, “Unbroken.” They explore Greek war stories through poems like Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey.”
Through these works, cadets encounter the full spectrum of warfare through the experience of warfighters. This helps them better understand the many facets facing those heading to a war zone. McGuire said that the course also shows individual warfighters’ capacity for courage, endurance and humanity.
Cadets read and view war stories illustrating the consequences of ethical and unethical decisions made in military literature. The course encourages critical thinking about these decisions and reflections on how officers might react to similar situations.
“Leadership decisions are decisions of conscience,” said Cadet 1st Class Joseph Peacock, a Military History major who will join the U.S. Space Force after graduation. “It is far better to appeal to conscience than simply by what is stated in policy. Not every call is the right one, but you live with the decisions you make, and you grow from them. It is important to balance our decisions with justice and mercy and bring forth good from the bad.”
Cadets in the War Literature and Film course study works from a diverse range of authors, including books by female novelist Sara Novic and Homer, pictured here.
The course incorporates multiple female works on wartime experiences. Two months into the course, cadets study and discuss Sara Novic’s “Girl at War: A Novel.” Novic’s book tells the story of a 10-year-old girl’s experiences of atrocity and later as a young soldier during the Croatian war for independence before she emigrated to the U.S. Later, McGuire will introduce the cadets in his class to 20th-century war correspondent and novelist Margaret Gellhorn. Gellhorn reported on the rise of Hitler in Europe and continued her coverage through World War II. McGuire said it is important to give cadets the female perspective because of war’s effect on women populations.
“We try to have a good dose of women’s voices in our course,” McGuire said. “We look at contemporary female war reports and writings from both male and female medics, nurses and surgeons to get both perspectives.”
Since war affects more than the combatants, McGuire spends course time on the impact on civilian populations. Cadets study narratives demonstrating how lives can be altered forever in the devastating aftermath of a war.
“Civilian perspectives have weight in war,” Peacock said. “We may never know the exact weight. Each civilian perspective will be different, depending on the location, context and experiences in the world. As an Airman, I can only hope to treat civilians as well as I can.”
In the class, which McGuire considers a “big-idea course,” cadets are encouraged to ask questions, including some with no absolute answers.
“That’s because the course is meant to inspire a lifetime of learning for career officers,” McGuire said. “The literature is meant to start a conversation about the big questions for these cadets as career professionals in the profession of arms. The questions include the status and inevitability of war through the lenses of the films and literature of their profession. In addition to being about these big ideas, the course is geared toward equipping cadets with what former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin E. Dempsey called ‘habits of mind and practical leadership skills.’”
By the end of the semester, cadets submit their own war stories. They create their own story or develop it from a research-based project. The critical thinking component allows cadets to grasp warfare’s full spectrum. As a result, these future Airmen and Guardians learn to become effective, empathetic and thoughtful leaders.
| Date Taken: | 10.07.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.25.2024 16:47 |
| Story ID: | 483978 |
| Location: | U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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