War and Peace: Writings by and about Veterans in the 20th and 21st Centuries

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Course Description

Since the aftermath of World War One, and with increasing urgency in contemporary America, stories about and by veterans are assigned a double role: that of exposing the horror of war yet also defending the possibility of a just war, and that of healing both veterans themselves and the society they return to. Key questions for this course are: Given the current practice of using writing and the hero¿s journey as a model for healing veterans and making their voices heard in our culture, can we look back to post-World-War-One culture and see if writing fulfills a similar function? And given how many post-World-War-One veterans became famous writers, how do we assess the interplay between literature, poetry, memoir, journalism, personal letters, photo accounts? Is there a connection between artistic innovation and the capacity to heal?

Cross Listed Courses

Grading Basis

ROP - Letter or Credit/No Credit

Min

2

Max

5

Course Repeatable for Degree Credit?

No

Course Component

Seminar

Enrollment Optional?

No