A Study of Rural and Native-American Students’ Military Identities, Military Family History, and Reading and Writing Interests in a Military-friendly, Military-themed Composition Course

Tara Hembrough,Kameron Dunn

doi:10.21061/jvs.v4i2.112

Abstract

The Journal of Veterans Studies (ISSN 2470-4768) is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal. The goals of the journal are to sustain international research in veterans studies, facilitate interdisciplinary research collaborations, and narrow gaps between cultures, institutions, experiences, knowledge, and understanding.We understand veterans studies as a multi-faceted, scholarly investigation of military veterans and their families. Topics within that investigation could include but are not limited to, combat exposure, reintegration challenges, and the complex systems and institutions (VA) that shape the veteran experience. Veterans studies, by its very nature, may analyze experiences closely tied to military studies, but the emphasis of veterans studies is the “veteran experience,” i.e., what happens after the service member departs the armed forces.The work of veterans studies can be found in such fields as higher education, humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and student affairs (among many others). Additionally, it can be seen in and out of formal education: by current members of the military, leaders of nonprofits, artists, activists, and students taking courses in veterans studies. Such research and work can take multiple forms. The journal is open to multimodal submissions in a variety of formats. We support the practical application of new knowledge regarding veterans studies to veteran and non-veteran (active duty, business, nonprofit, artists, activists) audiences as well as research that moves the field of veterans studies forward. Our acceptance rate* is 69% *rate includes desk-reject submissions and only accounts for submissions received between 01/01/2019 to present.

Highlights

Over the past decade, college writing teachers and writing program administrators have begun to discuss offering military-friendly classrooms and military-related reading and writing topics as a curricular design strategy connecting students who are military cadets, service-members, and veterans to the class material and improving their persistence factors and outcomes in undergraduate writing courses
We present a case study conducted in Oklahoma at a regional university involving seven service-members/veterans and 57 nonveterans enrolled in a first-year composition (FYC) class
Establishing a military-friendly cohort for the service-members/veterans To begin, the authors explored whether offering a FYC class formulated to be militaryfriendly would promote a range of students’ interaction with the design, including both servicemembers/ veterans and nonveterans, with many students being Native American

Summary

Introduction

College writing teachers and writing program administrators have begun to discuss offering military-friendly classrooms and military-related reading and writing topics as a curricular design strategy connecting students who are military cadets, service-members, and veterans to the class material and improving their persistence factors and outcomes in undergraduate writing courses (for instance, see Conference on College Composition and Communication [CCCC], 2015; Grohowski, 2013; Hart & Thompson, 2016; Hembrough, 2017; Keast, 2011; Navarre Cleary & Wozniak, 2013; Shivers-McNair, 2014). Researchers have not addressed how implementing a military-friendly, first-year composition (FYC) class utilizing military-oriented readings and potential writing subjects affects diverse student demographics, encompassing service-members/ veterans and military dependents and others with a self-emphasized, family military history, including rural1 and Native American students.

Results

Conclusion