News from the 2011 Annual Meeting

[David Kieran]

Dear Members of the War and Peace Studies Caucus,

In just three years, the War and Peace Studies Caucus has become a
vibrant force in the ASA. From the initial roundtable on “Studying War
in Peace in American Studies” at the 2009 annual meeting in
Washington, D.C. , we have worked to increase the visibility of war
studies at the ASA and to provide opportunities for scholars
interested in these topics to meet and collaborate. The results have
been outstanding; the 2011 program included at least fifteen panels
directly related to the study of war and peace, on topics ranging from
the Pequot Wars to the use of drones in the War on Terror. We can’t
take credit for all of the, but several did emerge from within the
caucus, and we have much to be proud of.

At the 2011 Annual Meeting, the Caucus met to discuss our continuing
work, which includes continuing to provide networking opportunities
for scholars interested in presenting at the Annual Meeting. We also
discussed how the Caucus might partner with other groups within and
without the ASA to develop conference and publication opportunities.

Below is a quick summary of items that were discussed as well as some
initiatives that are in the works for 2012:

• Broadening Our Community: Mike Hill offered to reach out to the
members of war-related panels on the 2012 program and invite them to
join the Caucus.
• Anniversaries and Commemorations: We are in the midst of a
particularly dense period of anniversaries and commemorations – the
10th anniversary of September 11, 2001 and the beginnings of the War
on Terror and its component wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 150th
anniversary of the Civil War, the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor,
the 40th anniversary of the end of the war in Vietnam, and the 60th
anniversary of the Korean War are all approaching or occurring. We
discussed the potential for the caucus to be involved in creating
panels and roundtables that would explore the politics of
commemoration in the current moment.
• Empire and War: Kristin Hass suggested a continuing gap between
those who identify themselves as scholars of empire and those who
identify as scholars of war. We discussed a potential panel that would
explore the range of ways and places in which empire and war have
intersected in American culture, and Kristin has offered to reach out
to scholars on the 2012 program who are working on empire. Those
interested should email Kristin directly (k...@umich.edu)
• War and/in/on the Environment:
o Bob Marzec proposed a panel entitled “Military Ecology and the
Sciences” that would focus, among other issues, on the military’s
approach to climate change, energy policy, and the relationship
between the environmental movement and the military. Interested people
can email Bob directly (rma...@purdue.edu)
o Bruce Franklin proposed that the caucus co-sponsor a panel with the
Environmental Caucus, the members of which seem keen on doing so. I
will be reaching out to them.
• Base Culture Across the Hemispheres: We discussed a potential panel
that would examine the culture and politics surrounding U.S. military
bases around the world – in Korea, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam,
and other places. There are clearly a range of interesting,
provocative topics to be explored here. I don’t think anyone has
offered to coordinate this panel, so please use the Google Group (see
below) to network.
• The Military and Cultural Theory: Mike Hill pointed out that the
military has become very interested in some of the same theoretical
issues that animate cultural studies scholarship and is interested in
exploring the ramifications of their theorizing, particularly around
matters related to the political economy of war. We discussed
potential collaboration with the Science and Technology Caucus on this
panel. For more details, contact Mike (mike...@albany.edu)
• ASA 2012 in Puerto Rico: The 2012 Annual Meeting in San Juan
provides a wonderful opportunity to think about issues significant to
the study of War and Peace. Two that we discussed were:
o The Representation / Lack of Latino Soldiers in the U.S. Military:
This panel would examine the location of Latinos in the U.S. military
both in the present and historically from a range of perspectives.
Contact Irene` Garza (Irene...@mail.utexas.edu)
o Vieques: The use of a Vieques as a bombing range is an issue that
the Caucus would like to take up, particularly given the conference’s
site. One idea that we discussed was a roundtable with scholars and
local activists. I will be checking with the ASA to see if they have
already put any plans together, and will suggest that we collaborate
with the executive board on a program.
• Teaching the Korean War: As we all know, the Korean War is often the
conflict that gets short shrift in courses. Daniel Kim proposed a
panel or roundtable that would explore strategies for teaching the War
in college courses. Contact Daniel at Danie...@brown.edu

Other Issues:
• Sponsored Panels: Bruce Franklin learned that the Caucus can sponsor
one panel, and that that panel will be guaranteed acceptance onto the
2012 Program. Those of you who are organizing panels and would like to
be considered for sponsorship should post to the Google Group the
information that you submit to ASA, and caucus members can send me
their votes. To facilitate this process, please post your materials by
January 15, 2012.
• Please note that the deadline for submitting proposals for ASA 2012
is January 26, 2012 at 11:59 PM EST.

There are, clearly, many more topics of interest to the community. To
facilitate communication, the caucus has established a Google Group
that is open to the public and where interested parties can share CFPs
and Announcements. Please click here to join: http://groups.google.com/group/ASAWPSC


If there are additional announcements or corrections to the above,
please let me know. Thanks to everyone for their continued work on the
caucus, and to bringing War and Peace Studies to a more prominent
place in the American Studies Community.

Best,

Dave Kieran
Visiting Assistant Professor
American Studies
Franklin and Marshall College