Join the Institute for Policy and Social Research for our March 2025 research luncheon! Lunch will be provided. Please email ipsr@ku.edu if you would like to attend. Let us know if you require any accommodations or have any dietary restrictions.

The US Army and Social Change

Beth Bailey (Foundation Distinguished Professor, History, Director, Center for Military, War, and Society Studies)

David Kieran (COL Richard R. Hallock Distinguished University Chair of Military History, Columbus State University, 2024-2025 Harold K. Johnson Chair of Military History, United States Army War College)

Kara Dixon Vuic (LCpl. Benjamin W. Schmidt Professor of War, Conflict, and Society in 20th-Century America, Texas Christian University)

While the new Secretary of Defense’s attacks on “wokeness” in the US military is new, claims that the military should not “be a site of social experimentation” go back to World War II. However, as historians, we argue that the military has traditionally, and of necessity, spent time and resources on social issues and concerns—including those surrounding race, gender, and sexuality—that emerge from American society. Addressing such social issues is not peripheral to the Army’s mission; it is central to its organizational culture and combat effectiveness.

IPSR is a research center supporting social scientists who focus on social problems and policy-relevant questions. Our monthly research luncheons provide a space for affiliated faculty and staff researchers to share their own ongoing work with the KU community.