Blog Them Out of the Stone Age

Each year the history department of the US Military Academy conducts a three-week program designed to help historians increase their understanding of the study of war and military history. Applications are being accepted through February 1, 2006. If you’re a faculty member or an advanced graduate student (ABD status), you’re eligible for the program. West Point pays your expenses as well as a stipend ($1,500 the last I heard).

In the 1990s I was involved with the seminar as a guest lecturer and staff ride leader, and I can attest that it’s a very impressive program. The military history department at West Point puts a tremendous amount of effort into it and those who attend can’t help but learn a great deal. It’s also a superb networking opportunity. Participants get to meet a number of well established military historians (see the list of guest lecturers, below), but more importantly they get to meet each other: the seminar functions as a way by which each cohort of rising military historians can forge the sort of working relationships that will pay off repeatedly in future years. On top of that, there’s a lot of beer involved.

Here’s a FAQ, reprinted from the 2004 program:

What Is the Background of the Program?

The Department of History has conducted a summer program in military history since the 1960s. It originally took the form of a fellowship for instructors who taught military history courses for Army ROTC programs around the country. After the summer of 1996, however, reductions in the Army’s budget made it impossible for the Army to continue funding the program. Now, through the generosity of a private donor and with a shift in focus and target audience, the Department offers the West Point Summer Seminar in Military History to a broader academic community.

What is the Mission of the Program?

The West Point Summer Seminar in Military History advances the field of academic military history by educating and training educators in the field of Western military history. Upon completion of the seminar, fellows are prepared to return to their home institutions and develop or enhance a program in the study of military history.

Who Can Participate?

The West Point Summer Seminar in Military History is open to faculty and advanced graduate students in the field of history who wish to enhance their ability to study and to teach military history. We welcome applications from American citizens, as well as foreign students and faculty. Experience has shown that the Seminar benefits greatly from the wide range of foreigners in each group. Last year’s foreign contingent included participants from Canada, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Uzbekistan and the Netherlands.

How Are Participants Selected?

We select applicants based upon their potential contributions to the field of military history and upon the contribution the program can make to their future study and teaching. Junior faculty (including those who have recently completed their doctorate), as well as graduate students who expect to teach or study military history and who have completed all requirements for the doctorate other than submission of the dissertation (ABD) will receive preference.

What Is The Program Focus?

The Summer Seminar focuses primarily on the Western (European and American) military experience and the Asian military experience during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

What Is The Program Format?

The program is built around a series of seminars, a variety of guest lecturers, and staff rides of Civil War and American Revolution battlefields. Daily classes consist of groups of fourteen to sixteen fellows who meet for three hours each morning. Each daily session begins with a USMA faculty member introducing the topic and then continues with a detailed discussion of the subject and historiography. Each class also includes suggestions for approaches to teaching the topic.

Who Are the Guest Lecturers?

The guest lecture program brings a variety of noted military historians to speak to the Fellows. These lectures usually occur in the afternoon and are followed by a discussion period. Lecturers may also include Army officers from the USMA History Department and other military schools or institutions who give presentations on topics in which they have special or personal expertise. Lecturers over the past several years have included John Shy, George Gawrych, Brian Linn, Mark Grimsley, Gary Gallagher, Ira Gruber, Holger Herwig, Don Higginbotham, Gerhard Weinberg, George Herring, William Skelton, Ron Spector, Donald Horward, David Chandler, and Generals (Retired) Frederick Franks and William Westmoreland. Evening lectures or colloquia focus on a variety of interesting subjects and are used to cover topics that do not fit easily within the standard sequence of lessons.

What Does The Staff Ride Entail?

During the 2004 Summer Seminar, fellows spent four days visiting Manassas, Antietam, and Gettysburg. Dr. Carol Reardon of Penn State University, a renowned expert on Civil War battlefields and staff rides, led all three of the Civil War Battlefield Staff Rides. A member of the USMA Department of History also led a one-day staff ride of the Saratoga battlefield in upstate New York. The participants learned how to conduct a staff ride and gained an appreciation for a staff ride’s value in teaching military history.

What Is A Staff Ride?

The staff ride is an extremely important part of high-level military history instruction because it allows the participants to gain an understanding of the effects of terrain on battle and analyze the decision-making of commanders. It also provides an appreciation of the scale of the battles they are studying. The main objective of these exercises is to show the participants that professional military history is intellectually engaging, readily accessible to them, and fun, because the overarching goal of the program is to encourage as many of the participants as possible to continue to study and teach military history.

What is Required of the Participants?

Fellows will have the opportunity to make a direct contribution to the study of military history while at the seminar. During their time at West Point, Fellows will complete an individual seminar project. They may choose between writing a historiographical essay, creating a primary source document packet, developing a series of lesson plans, designing a web site, or developing links to benefit a military history web site. At the conclusion of the seminar, Fellows will leave with a collection of their peers’ contributions.

What Does it Cost?

The program does not cost the participants anything. Travel, food, and lodging, are provided. Participants will receive a $1,500 stipend.