Department of English and Philosophy, USMA

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As we close out the 2024 academic year, we are excited to recognize some of the outstanding people and their work!

PCS'ing:
MAJ Haleigh Kirchenheiter
MAJ Kelli Pryor
MAJ Daniel Qualk
MAJ Mackenzie Eason
LTC Murray Shugars

Senior Instructors:
MAJ Drew Paulson
MAJ Kelli Pryon
MAJ Haleigh Kirchenheiter
MAJ Nathan Barnes

Excellence:
Mrs. Kris Fox

Cadet best Signature Writing Event of the Fall 2023 semester:
CDT Oladipo Otun

Awesome work everyone!


Dean of the Academic Board-West Point
USMA Library
West Point Association of Graduates
West Point Department of Foreign Languages

Another wonderful and engaging Zengerle Lecture!

Please join the Department of English and Philosophy, USMA for its annual John Calabro Night of the Arts tomorrow, the 19th, at 1730 hrs in the West Point Club Grand Ballroom! Cadets will be showcasing some of the wonderful art work they have made this year!

See you then! And !

West Point Department of Foreign Languages
USMA Library
West Point Association of Graduates
Dean of the Academic Board-West Point

On 15 April at 12:50pm EST, The Department of English and Philosophy welcomes everyone to attend a discussion about the truth and media with CBS Chief Political Analyst John Dickerson. A journalist and author, Dickerson is a CBS national correspondent and host of CBS News Primetime. He has anchored CBS This Morning, Face the Nation, and writes for Time magazine, Slate, and The Atlantic. Dickerson is the author of three books: On Her Trail, the story of his mother, Nancy Dickerson, who was one of the first women to be a TV News anchor, as well as Whistlestop and The Hardest Job in the World, which focus on presidential history and the office of the presidency. Mr. Dickerson received the Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency and the David Broder Award for political reporting. Mirroring his approach to journalism, The New York Times Book Review calls Whistlestop “inquisitive, generous, probing, and thoughtful.”

For more information or to RSVP for link contact: [email protected]

Army!

Dean of the Academic Board-West Point
USMA Library
West Point Association of Graduates
West Point Department of Foreign Languages

We would like to welcome August Edward David Qualk to the Department of English and Philosophy, USMA! Born to MAJ Daniel Qualk and his wife Heather on 8 December 2023!

Congratulations to the whole family as they welcome its newest member!!

Last week the Department of English and Philosophy celebrated their move from Lincoln Hall into their new home inside the swing space. The department celebrated with friends, family, cadets, and faculty. There were food trucks, music from the Jazz Club, a ribbon cutting ceremony, and an awards ceremony. The awards ceremony saw coins presented to Mrs. Kris Fox and Ms. Amy Sudol as well as Army Achievement Medals being presented to MAJ Tiffany Enoch, MAJ Drew Paulson, MAJ Dan Qualk, and MAJ Haleigh Kirchenheiter.

Awesome job by some of our excellent faculty! Way to go MAJ Ordiway and LTC Cutright!

TODAY!!

Yesterday, DEP’s own LTC Kevin Cutright hosted a book signing to celebrate the release of his new book, The Empathetic Soldier. As a testament to the book’s relevance and his engagements with cadets, the bookstore sold out of copies. This book represents the culmination of many years of thought and research. See the abstract below.

“This book shows the contribution that empathy can and should make to the proper conduct of war. Perhaps surprisingly, US Army doctrine identifies empathy as an essential trait in soldiers. Despite this endorsement from senior leaders, empathy’s role in the military profession remains obscure. The notion of soldiers empathetically considering others, especially enemies, strikes many as counter to the nature of soldiering. Additionally, confusion caused by differing definitions of empathy often leads to its complete dismissal. This book clarifies the concept by considering recent philosophical, psychological, and neuroscientific research, and demonstrates the relevance of empathy to the tactical and strategic demands of war. Empathy amplifies soldiers’ understanding of actors in an operational environment, enables soldiers’ critical and creative thinking, and improves their overall intentions, planning, and assessments of a war’s progress. While empathy can make soldiers more susceptible to the psychic wound of moral injury, it also helps prevent and overcome this injury. Instead of dismissing it, soldiers should assimilate empathy into their moral frameworks.”

MAJ Drew Paulson visited Dr. Patrick Query's EN300 class to talk about Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway in relation to British recruiting posters of the First World War. Students considered the visual rhetoric of the posters, including the way military recruiting played on themes of masculinity, conformity, duty, and nostalgia. These posters formed part of the visual backdrop of Woolf's London and spoke a language intimately familiar to the characters of her fiction. Previously, MAJ Michael Weiss spoke to the class about the poetry of the war written by both soldiers and civilians, emphasizing the responsibility these writers felt either to engage with the war through their work or to stay out of it.

A great teacher never retires!

Check out the article MAJ Phil Tarvainen (DEP) & MAJ Ben Ordiway (DEP/SCPME) wrote for their local paper about an impactful high school English teacher.
20 years ago, Phil and Ben shared a high school classroom in a small town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (Go Yoopers!); until recently, they both shared an office in Lincoln Hall. Read the article to find out more.

Bonus! The Marquette Mining Journal (the area’s largest newspaper) wrote an editorial on Phil and Ben’s article.

Teaching is its own doing!

https://www.miningjournal.net/news/local/2023/10/a-tribute-to-the-unretired-teacher/

Major Chris Liggett, an English Instructor at West Point, presents World War II veteran Joseph Detz a coin and letter, on behalf of Lieutenant General Steven Gilland, for his 100th birthday.

The Department of English and Philosophy is proud to recognize PFC Retired Detz's inspirational service! This family has shown a generational dedication to duty, and we want to highlight that PFC Detz's granddaughter, Cadet Jordyn Detz, is currently making her way through plebe year as a Cadet at the academy!

What a way to continue the tradition!

On 9 September the Department of English and Philosophy, USMA had a tailgate, hosted by COL Mayer and family, to cheer on the Army West Point Football pending 57-0 victory against Delaware State!

What a great opportunity to get together and support our students!

Dean of the Academic Board-West Point
West Point Association of Graduates

West Point is ready to "Rendezvous With Destiny" as they represent the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at this Saturday's Football game against ULM!

Cadet Leonel Martinez, an English major and history minor from Griffin, Georgia currently serves as the Company A1 Sandhurst squad leader and is a member of the Genocide Studies Club.

Before attending West Point, Cadet Martinez was a Specialist and served as a Blackhawk mechanic in Alpha Company, 5th Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade and was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, from 2019-2020. He has earned the Airborne, Air Assault, and Basic Aviator Badge.

“Two individuals and a desire to take care of soldiers are what inspired me to apply to West Point. During high school, West Point was mentioned to me by my JROTC instructor, Lt. Col. Sylvester, but I never saw myself as a cadet or as an officer. However, my thoughts changed after I enlisted. During this time, I learned that all that matters are the soldiers next to you, which is why I felt the need to become the most competent officer possible. Once my former Platoon Leader, Lt. Morgan, learned of my ambitions, he pushed me to follow his steps and to apply to West Point.

"My parents immigrated from El Salvador with nothing but the shirts on their backs. The hardships and adversity my parents have had to overcome for me to receive an opportunity to succeed keep me grounded on what is important—graduating and commissioning.

"Additionally, I am provided the luxury of attending a school with some of the highest-performing individuals from all over the United States; this fact never ceases to drive me to perform my best. Lastly, West Point’s access to resources is unparalleled. Most instructors are commissioned officers pulled from the Army and their mentorship has been a crucial part of my experience at West Point.”

We commend Cadet Martinez for demonstrating the values of leading with character by embracing duty, upholding honor, and representing the U.S. Army and the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)



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Another Academic trip this summer saw Cadets exploring Shakespeare across England! From 28 May to 12 June, four Cadets got the opportunity to delve into the world of Shakespeare by visiting key sites associated with his life and his plays! Cadets Austin Henning (‘25), Kaitlyn Johnson (‘25), Lewis Mazikowski (‘25), and Grayson Sakell (’25) flew into London and spent time in several cities throughout England (and one location in Wales), including Bath, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Leicester, Oxford, York, Norwich, King’s Lynn, London, and other cities. Sites of particular interest included Shakespeare's Globe Theater in London and Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon. While traveling, cadets watched several performances including Hamlet (Royal Shakespeare Company Theater Stratford-Upon-Avon), Julius Caesar (Norwich Theatre), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream and A Comedy of Errors (both at the Globe in London). Cadets also visited sites associated with the history of the British Isles including Stonehenge, Buckingham Palace, and Glastonbury Abbey!

According to several cadets, it was an "unforgettable experience!"


Dean of the Academic Board-West Point
West Point Association of Graduates
USMA Library

This summer, Department of English and Philosophy, USMA led multiple cultural and academic trips (AIADs) across the US and Europe!

The first was The Ethics and Literature at the Cross-Roads of European History AIAD, a fourteen-day academic trip to Prague, Czechia focused on examining the interconnections of the disciplines of philosophy, literature, and history with the six participating cadets (two of whom had not traveled abroad before) by studying events pertaining to the Thirty Years War and World War II. Through a process that involved classroom style learning, intensive reading, and cultural engagement with the city of Prague and other regions of the Czech Republic, cadets explored the morality of resistance to state powers and the effects that the stories we tell in our understanding who the heroes are of the past.

“Prague is a remarkable city that I will leave with many impactful memories thanks to this AIAD. The inspirational and motivational significance I gained from this experience is one that I will carry with me throughout my career as a future Army officer. The Terezin concentration camp and the destroyed city of Lidice provided a reality for the consequences and cost of war. The weight of the history I have experienced in Prague will forever shape my outlook on the morality of war and how we remember these struggles.” – CDT Skylar Maurer, ’25.

!

Dean of the Academic Board-West Point
West Point Association of Graduates
USMA Library

We are super excited for West Point's newest Cadets in the Class of 2027 and the rest of the Cadets as we begin a new academic year on Monday!

The Class of '27's motto is "Earned not given," and we can't wait to see the amazing things they will learn and accomplish this semester and beyond!!



Dean of the Academic Board-West Point
West Point Association of Graduates

Awesome work by MAJ Ordiway! Keep up the great work!

Recently at the in London, Associate Professor of English, Matthew Carey Salyer, was named a finalist for the Michael Waters Poetry Prize for a new manuscript! His poem, “From the Papers of One Still Living,” was also selected for an award in the Soren Kierkegaard Poetry Competition by Mary Grace Magnano and Dana Gioia. It will be published in Homage to Soren Kierkegaard later this year. This term, his poems have appeared in Narrative, The Common, Southword, The Columbia Review, and other journals in the U.S., Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

He was also an invited reader on 28 June at the Mayfair Times Literary Festival in London, sharing a panel with poet, Scarlett Sabet, entitled Poetry as Salvation. “Poetic speech is intricate work,” he remarked, “interior, sure, but physical and exhaustive to be sure. It’s secretly quite democratic for the same reason that skilled physical labor is. No one can take away your ability to do it.” He will be teaching poetry at West Point this fall.



Dean of the Academic Board-West Point
USMA Library

On 29 June, Prof. Seth Herbst gave a wonderful prologue to the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival’s performance of Henry V, providing the audience a lot to ponder on the “true” Henry (Hal/Harry) and what personal identity can mean. Such meetings of the academic and the performative give richer meaning and appreciation for both the performers as well as the audience, both academic and general. We look forward to our continued relationship with the HVSF both in the coming year and beyond!



Dean of the Academic Board-West Point
West Point Association of Graduates

A huge shout-out to LTC Deb Daley, who participated in the Bavarian American Academy’s 12th International Summer Academy at the University of Kentucky from 5-13 June! The Summer Academy is a collaboration of the Bavarian American Academy and the University of Kentucky to explore themes in American Studies through a combination of keynote lectures, group work-in-progress sessions, and cultural activities over an eight-day period. LTC Daley presented a case study from her dissertation, currently titled “Representations of Military Women in Contemporary War Stories.”

Dean of the Academic Board-West Point
West Point Association of Graduates

We are proud of the important work that MAJ Ben Ordiway is doing to develop moral competency in cadets and the operational military through “Moral Terrain Coaching” (MTC)! Think of it as an After Action Review that focuses on the moral features of a unit training event.

MAJ Ordiway has conducted several engagements, most recently at USSOCOM, and presented his work at numerous professional conferences while assigned to the Department of English & Philosophy.

Here is a roll-up of some of his great work:

• SEP ’22 & MAY ’23: Guest lectured (virtual) on moral disengagement at the U.S. Naval War College’s “Leadership in the Profession of Arms” (LPA) course

• OCT ’22: Presented MTC at the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society in Ottawa, Canada

• NOV ’22 Presented MTC at the US Army Chief of Chaplains Initiative Group in NYC, NY

• FEB ’23: Presented MTC at the American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting in Denver, Colorado

• MAY ’23: Presented MTC at the International Society of Military Ethics (Europe) in Athens, Greece

• MAY ’23: Presented MTC at the 1st Special Forces Command - Airborne Geostrategic Symposium at Fort Liberty, NC

• MAY ’23: Presented MTC at the USSOCOM Commander’s Conference: “Focus on the First SOF Truth: Day of Professionalism”

MAJ Ordiway also hosted or was interviewed on the podcasts below—check them out!

• 1st Special Forces Command Indigenous Approach Podcast: The Indigenous Approach: Ethical Leadership - Dr. Pauline Shanks Kaurin and CPT Ben Ordiway on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ethical-leadership-dr-pauline-shanks-kaurin-and-capt/id1534621849?i=1000547805969

• US Army Chief of Chaplains Community Conversations Podcast: Community Conversations: Community Conversations-Coaching and Developing Moral Reasoning and Ethical Decision-Making on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/community-conversations-coaching-and-developing-moral/id1610608825?i=1000563285777

• One CA Podcast: One CA: 104. Benjamin Ordiway and Anthony Pfaff on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/104-benjamin-ordiway-and-anthony-pfaff/id1371006736?i=1000583873109

• Always in Pursuit Podcast: Always in Pursuit: Taking Ethics Beyond the Classroom into the Field with Benjamin Ordiway on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/taking-ethics-beyond-the-classroom-into-the/id1547108798?i=1000583520547

We are rooting for MAJ Ordiway as he continues to develop this project at the Simon Center!

Dean of the Academic Board-West Point
West Point Superintendent
West Point Association of Graduates

On 19 April, the Department's LTC Cutright was recently invited to speak at the Army War College in support of an elective titled “Human-Machine Teaming: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” His expertise in empathy and its relevance for the military profession provided an interesting discussion on this uniquely human contribution to the human-machine team. For part of the presentation, LTC Cutright summarized the points of his recent book, "The Empathetic Soldier," to highlight the ways in which empathy improves intelligence analysis, critical thinking, tactical decision-making, and strategic planning.


Dean of the Academic Board-West Point

Recently, MAJ Lauren Ward presented her paper “Military Masculinities, Tactical Femininities, and the ‘Third Gender’ in Ashley’s War” at the U.S. Naval War College's 9th annual Women, Peace, and Security symposium, and delivered a passionate and intellectually based presentation for those lucky enough to attend!

Way to go!


Dean of the Academic Board-West Point

The Department of English and Philosophy and the Center For Humanities hosted the 8th Annual Calabro Night of the Arts (CNOTA) on the evening of 21 April 2023!

CNOTA is an opportunity for West Point Cadets across the university to create and appreciate the humanities through art, photography, music, and video. This fosters creative thinking and perspective, key elements of effective leaders of character!

The department recognized cadets for their artistic accomplishments! Notably, 1LT Evan Fitzgibbon, Class of '21, was posthumously awarded the John Calabro Award for Excellence in Leadership and the Arts for achievement as a singer/songwriter during his time as a Cadet at West Point.

Also, a shout out to USMA Library for showcasing the Cadet Tiny Art exhibit, once again highlighting the creativity of all the wonderful Cadets!


Dean of the Academic Board-West Point
Gretsch
West Point Association of Graduates
USMA Library

Congratulations to the Department's Dr. Seth Herbst on the release of his book: "Milton and Music"! A wonderful and unique accomplishment! From the excerpt: "Milton and Music is the first study to juxtapose John Milton’s poetry on music with later musical adaptations of his work…Milton and Music revises our understanding of what makes this canonical poet an intellectual revolutionary.”

In Dr. Herbst's own words on the release: "I’m always looking for ways to learn more about how music has inspired literature and in its turn been inspired by literature. Piecing together the story of how the Renaissance writer John Milton’s love for music fueled his development as a poet led me to another story—the story of Milton’s afterlife in music. Composers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, I discovered, found Milton’s poetry a complex source of inspiration, often struggling to wrest it—fantastically dense as it is with sound and meaning—into coherent music. Yet they tried, and the results, sometimes visionary, sometimes unsettling, continue Milton’s own story—his dream of a music that could marry absolute beauty with ethical certainty."

Go Army!
Dean of the Academic Board-West Point
USMA Library

So happy for CDT Dakoda Wagner!
As one of our newest English majors, we're happy to see him excelling both in and outside of the classroom!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrYt2QhJkVL/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Army Football on Instagram: "👀👀Rewinding it back to Dakoda Wagner’s one-handed grab to win the Spring Game for Team Black #GoArmy" 1,157 likes, 6 comments - Army Football () on Instagram on April 23, 2023: "👀👀Rewinding it back to Dakoda Wagner’s one-handed grab to win the Spring Game for Team Bl..."