POLSCI 497S-1 | Spring 2017

Syllabus

The Virtues of War - Politics, Policy, & Perception of Military Service

Spring 2017 Syllabus

Political Science Department, Duke University
Instructor: Logan M. Isaac, iamloganmi@gmail.com
*No Office Hours, Email in advance for appointments.

Times: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 1505-1620 hrs (3:05-4:20pm)

Location: Classroom 299, Physics Building

Course Description
What are the virtues embodied by military training and service, or are there any? How do the
images and language of militarism and sacrifice shape our political debates? What democratic
traditions and philosophies have influenced public opinion and policy about military
personnel in America? This course traces a history of the role of virtue in ancient and modern
western reflection on war. It also considers these questions and related issues by examining
inequalities within the civilian/military gap and the extent to which it has affected the
perception, treatment, and veneration or vilification of combatants themselves.

The central aim of this course is to build cultural competency in the complex social dynamics
within military culture and assess the extent to which martial imagery, language, and virtues
have been appropriated for propaganda, entertainment, and/or political gain. Students will
begin by interrogating the role of the soldier as it has been constructed by western civilization
and its philosophical and diplomatic self-understanding(s). They will then explore how
cultural architecture such as literature and film, political theories, the social sciences, and
religion, has informed, equipped, and/or impeded his (and increasingly, her) ability to attain

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Syllabus

the kind of character required for fighting wars in the way such societies imagine. Finally, in a
third and final section, attention will be paid to the perception of soldiers and veterans
through a critical appraisal of the intent, effect, and success of relevant public policies and
social programs.

The course is cross listed by the Kenan Institute for Ethics and the Center for Documentary
Studies at Duke, and may count toward certificates in either Civic Engagement & Social
Change or Philosophy, Politics, & Economics. It also fulfills undergraduate requirements for
the Civilizations (CZ) Area of Knowledge and satisfies Ethical (EI) and Cross-Cultural (CCI)
Modes of Inquiry. Course material was developed with the support of, and endorsed by, the
universitys Office of Institutional Equity. Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
General Martin Dempsey has been confirmed as a speaker for a class at a time and on a topic
to be announced.

Learning Objectives
1. Strengthen skills in writing and argumentation about complex moral and political
challenges relevant to democratic civic engagement
2. Introduce students to central philosophical approaches to the virtues and their
applicability to, or derivation from, soldiers across western civilizations
3. Develop expertise necessary to recognize and critique military cultural appropriation by
civilians and enable non-veteran students to identify their own biases and stereotypes
about the military
4. Reflect on public policies pertaining to military service and the extent to which such
programs have been equitably distributed, lawfully enforced, and realistically
represented

AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE
CZ (Civilizations) designator:
Students will follow the historical and cultural trajectory of western civilization's
perception of war and warriors and critically evaluate the socio-political role of organized
violence and its perpetrators. Analysis will include philosophical and religious ideals which
have shaped soldiers in western civilization as well as the political value or effect they often
create in public discourse and civic engagement.

MODES OF INQUIRY
CCI (Cross-Cultural Inquiry) designator:
This course will build within students formal and academic experience in the processes of
exploring, understanding, and analyzing differences among peoples and within social
systems like military culture. Students will conduct a scholarly, comparative, and integrative
analysis of historical, economic, aesthetic, social and cultural values as they differ between
military communities and a wider "civilian" public to which they belong, and explore a

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double consciousness created as soldiers are discharged, reintegrate, and transform into
"veterans." Exercises will turn critical and responsible attention to issues of identity,
diversity, and power so that students may evaluate complex and difficult issues from
contrasting perspectives.
EI (Ethical Inquiry) designator:
Engaging directly with subjects that western culture often labels as taboo, like religion and
politics, will help students sharpen their understanding of the implications of public policy
and personal decision-making on members of the military and government service (GS)
employees. Students will engage in critical ethical inquiry to appreciate the historical
trajectory of the role of soldiers in their society and their treatment upon homecoming by
comparing ancient western accounts of war and the martial vocation with those in late
antiquity and early modernity. Doing so will assist students in developing and applying
skills in ethical reasoning in order to gain an understanding of a variety of ways in which
ethical issues and values frame and shape human conduct and ways of life.

Format
This rigorously interdisciplinary seminar course will involve reading, in-class discussion, and
occasional lectures. Students will be encouraged and expected to share their perspectives on
the readings and participate in discussion. Students will be expected to interpret ancient
literature and contemporary culture alongside accounts of military service and social
reintegration, requiring intellectual resilience and scholarly engagement.

Assessment
10% for attendance, quality of participation in class and/or online
30% each for three assignments, details of which will be provided in class;
1) Virtue Paper (2500-3000 words, due Thursday, February 23rd) Each student will
respond to a prompt based on virtue ethics and the profession of arms
a. For grading criteria, see the Writing Assignment Rubric, available online at
https://iamloganmi.org/2017/01/01/writing-assignment-rubric.
2) Cultural Analysis (due weeks 10 & 11) Students will pair up and critically assess a
soldiers autobiography and its cinematic depiction based on one of four modern
American conflicts.
3) Policy Presentation (due weeks 12 15) Each student will select one topic to present
and guide conversation during a class session

Required Texts
J. Glenn Gray, The Warriors
Hilde Lindemann, Damaged Identities, Narrative Repair
Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue (select chapters only)*
Robert Meagher, Herakles Gone Mad

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Syllabus

Nancy Sherman, Stoic Warriors

Bernard Verkamp, Moral Treatment of Returning Warriors (select chapters only)*
One of the following (DO NOT ACQUIRE UNTIL INSTRUCTED)
o Thomas Skeyhill, His Own Life Story and War Diary
o Erich Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front
o Audie Murphy, To Hell and Back
o Frances Doss, In Gods Care
o Hal Moore, We Were Soldiers Once and Young
o Ron Kovic, Born on the Fourth of July
o Anthony Swofford, Jarhead
o Chris Kyle, American Sniper
*Do not purchase these titles; we will not be reading them in full.

Weekly Schedule
I. CONTEMPORARY CRISES (Weeks 1 3)
1. Jan. 12: Introductions, course overview
2. Jan. 17 & 19: Narrative Identities and Veteran Civic Health
3. Jan. 24 & 26: Modern Moral Philosophy

II. ORIGINS OF VIRTUE (Weeks 4 7)

4. Jan. 31 & Feb. 2: Greek Virtues
5. Feb. 7 & 9: Roman Virtues
6. Feb. 14 & 16: Medieval Virtues
7. Feb. 21 & 23: Martial Virtues
Assignment #1 DUE Feb.23 (all students)

III. CULTURAL APPROPRIATION (Weeks 8 11)

8. Feb. 28 & Mar. 2: Theatre Virtues on display
9. Mar. 7 & 9: Literature The virtue of narrative(s)
[*Spring Recess]
10. Mar. 21 & 23 WWI assignments
11. Mar. 28 & 30 WWII assignments
12. Apr. 4 & 6 Vietnam assignments
13. Apr. 11 & 13 Iraq assignments
IV. EPILOGUE
14. Apr. 18 & 20 The Story of (Just?) War
15. Apr. 25 Conclusion(s)

FINAL EXAM: MAY 4th, 0900 1200