VETERANS STUDIES ASSOCIATION

Through publications, online presence, and conferences, the Veterans Studies Association encourages scholarship analyzing and reflecting upon the diverse experiences of veterans and their families in society.

We believe that the category, veteran, must be approached critically, inclusively, and comparatively, covering military and former military personnel and their families of all identities, from the time they contemplate living outside the military, across and throughout their lifespans as they navigate civilian norms and lifeways. We especially encourage scholarship that highlights the experiences of marginalized people, including women, LGBTQ+ people, racial/ethnic/religious minorities, refugees and immigrants, whose “veteran-ness” has been contested or obscured by dominant narratives. We also invite work that uses the category of veteran as a way of interrogating the experiences of warriors-come-home across temporal, geographical, and cultural boundaries, outside the modern, Western system of nation-states and permanent, state-sponsored military establishments.

As a field committed to advancing understanding of all aspects of “veteran in society,” we situate ourselves at the intersections of the theoretical and the applied, the creative and the performative, the normative and the empirical. Accordingly, VSA welcomes contributions reflecting upon a broad range of disciplines, theories, approaches, and methods. Both veterans and non-veterans are welcome to contribute to VSA’s intellectual project. While seeking to amplify the perspectives of formerly military-connected scholars, VSA recognizes that veterans and their family members are also part of civilian society; therefore, veteran studies can no more be done exclusively by veterans than by civilians. All are welcome to participate in advancing our shared scholarly understanding of veterans’ experiences.