Full Description
In recent decades, there has been a generational shift of the US veterans' peace movement, from one grounded mostly in the experiences of older white men of the Vietnam War era, to one informed by a young, diverse cohort of post-9/11 veterans. In Unconventional Combat, Michael A. Messner traces this transformation through the life-history interviews of six veterans of color to show how their experiences of sexual and gender harassment, sexual assault, racist and homophobic abuse during their military service has shaped their political views and action. Drawing upon participant observation with the Veterans For Peace and About Face organizations and interviews with older male veterans as his backdrop, Messner shows how veterans' military experiences form their collective "situated knowledge" of intersecting oppressions. This knowledge, Messner argues, further shapes their intersectional praxis, which promises to transform the veterans' peace movement and potentially link their anti-militarist work with other movement groups working for change. As intersectionality has increasingly become central to the conversation on social movements, Unconventional Combat is not only a story about the US veterans' peace movement, but it also offers broad relevance to the larger world of social justice activism.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1: Action at intersections: Wars, militarization, and veterans' peace movements
INTERLUDE 1: "It was all men."
Chapter 2: "I was in unconventional combat": Intersectional pathways through the military
INTERLUDE 2: Guys being guys
Chapter 3: "Rip off the band-aid": A new generation confronts the veterans' peace movement
INTERLUDE 3: "We cannot stand in fear"
Chapter 4: "Connecting the dots": From silos to intersectional coalitions
INTERLUDE 4: "Say it, mean it, and do something about it."
Chapter 5: "You've got to do something radical": Intersectional praxis in social movements
Appendix I: Methodological Appendix: Centering Intersectional Standpoints
List of References
Notes
Appendix
