This one I actually sent Mr. Miller directly:
My recent posts on both Cliopatria, the big history blog, and my own individual blog devoted to academic military history, respond to your September 26 article, “Sounding Taps.” The tone I have taken is contentious but I hope not abusive. Basically your article struck me as deliberately constructed so as to catastrophize the position military history has within the academy.
Speaking just for myself — a separate, collective response is forthcoming from my colleagues and my department chair — I want to say that I sincerely do not recognize the field as you have portrayed it. My first inclination has been to think that you were knowingly tendentious in your use of evidence, but perhaps I am mistaken. It’s possible that you simply reported the state of the field as it was explained to you by other military historians. I have long noticed, with some impatience, that there is a pronounced “culture of complaint” within in my field that is matched by a puzzling unwllingness to think strategically about how we might grow the field in an environment where the academic establishment is skeptical but the political environment is favorable. If women’s historians could negotiate a closely analogous set of environments 30-35 years ago, why can’t we?
Frankly, I would like to have seen you talk back to the military historians you quoted and asked why they seemed so passive and defeatist. The modern conservative movement achieved its present strength in American life through very astute proactivity. After all, it too was once marginalized and fought its way to positions of great influence. To repeat: if feminists scholars could do it in the academic arena, and conservatives could do it in the political arena, why shouldn’t one expect military historians to do the same?
Anyway, although as you will see I take very strong issue with the article as you have written it, I do appreciate the chance it has afforded for dialogue and debate. I hope, if you have the time and inclination, that you will join in.
Sincerely,
Mark Grimsley
Associate Professor
Department of History
The Ohio State University
One Comment
Mr. Miller was gracious enough to respond, and requested links to my various posts on “Sounding Taps.” I supplied them. I look forward to receiving his comments, rebuttal, or whatever; either through private email or through comments on this site or at Cliopatria.