War is among the most crucial and consistent experiences in American history, and therefore it is not surprising that the role of war has always been hotly contested. Despite this, it is not often that Americans are able to come together to discuss their experience of war—as service members, as veterans, as military families, or as civilians. And, it is the rare moment when individuals have a space in which to reflect on how their experiences are linked to ethical frameworks—particularly notions about justice. The readings and discussion programs for Justice and War seek to create this space—to link experience and ethics and to examine how they inform each other.
The program will offer two discussion series in spring 2023. Individuals are welcome to attend any or all meetings in both 3-event series.
Seminar 1: Jus ad bellum
Texts
Spanish-American War
- Henry Cabot Lodge, “England, Venezuela, and the Monroe Doctrine” (1895)
- William McKinley’s Declaration of War (1898)
- Excerpts from William Randolph Hearst’s newspapers (1898)
- Ellen Hardin Walworth, “She Calls for Nurses” (1898)
Vietnam War
- NSAM 288, 17 March 1964, FRUS, 1964-1968: Vietnam 1964
- “Memorandum From the Secretary of Defense (McNamara) to the President,” 16 March 1964, 1:153–67
- Lyndon Johnson, Press Conference to explain troop escalation (1965)
- Graham Greene, The Quiet American (1955)
Films
Spanish-American War
- The Crucible of Empire (PBS)
Vietnam War
- The Path to War (HBO)
Seminar 2: Jus in bello
Texts
Spanish-American War
- William James “On Certain Blindness” (1898)
- Accounts from soldiers fighting in the Philippines (1898-1904)
- Jane Addams, “Democracy or Militarism” (1899)
- “War and Women. Patriotic Attitude of the National Organization,” (1898)
Vietnam War
- Martin Luther King, Riverside Church Address (1967)
- Michael Herr, Dispatches (1967)
- Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, “Visits to Saigon and Hanoi” (1971)
- Seymour Hersh, “The My Lai Massacre,” New Yorker (1972)
- Selections from Janice Alyce Nark, NAM: The Vietnam War in the Words of the Men and Women Who Fought There
Films
Spanish-American War
- Spanish-American War in Motion Pictures (LOC Collection)
- The Crucible of Empire (PBS)
Vietnam War
- Full Metal Jacket, Platoon
- My Lai (PBS Documentary)
Seminar 3: Jus post bellum
Texts
Spanish-American War
- Apolinario Mabini, “Manifesto” (1898)
- Mark Twain, “The War Prayer”
- W.E.B. Dubois, “Credo,” Independent (1904)
Vietnam War
- Seymour Hersh, “Scene of the Crime,” New Yorker (2015)
- Interviews with Michael Herr, author of Dispatches
- Michael Herr, Selections from Dispatches
- Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram
- Viet Than Nguyen, Nothing Ever Dies (selections)
- NAM: The Vietnam War in the Words of the Men and Women Who Fought There
Films
Spanish-American War
- “Mark Twain’s, the War Prayer”
Vietnam War
- Apocalypse Now (1979)
- The Fog of War (2014)
