Small Wars Journal

It's Time for a Scholarly Truce With Military Academies

  1. Blog
Mon, 10/10/2011 - 12:27pm

It's Time for a Scholarly Truce With Military Academies by Melissa Matthes, The Chronicle Review.

… I have been teaching at the Coast Guard Academy for only two years, but so far, at least, I have not once been asked to modify what I teach, what I say, or what I study in response to military protocol. Indeed, when I was first hired, the dean of academics said at faculty orientation: "In my opinion, if you're not making cadets uncomfortable ... you're not doing your job." I suppose he thinks of the classroom as academic boot camp. I think of it more like Michel Foucault did, teaching undergraduates how to think the unthinkable, to ask themselves: What are the borders beyond which they cannot imagine?

I'd ask my fellow academics who are reflexively hostile to the service academies the very same thing. And then I'd ask them to come teach cadets. The possibilities for democratic action abound.

Comments

StrykerCavScout

Mon, 10/10/2011 - 2:24pm

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I enjoyed the article - and am left wondering why anyone would want to deny themselves the opportunity to have a role in developing the minds of the next generation of military leaders...

Dave Maxwell

Mon, 10/10/2011 - 1:51pm

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Good take on civil-military academic relations. I hope that Dr. Matthes' civilian academic colleagues will respect her perspective especially if they have never walked in her shoes in both civilian AND military academic institutions.