Author to lecture on warfare, volunteer army

Professor of history at Temple University and award-winning author Beth Bailey will give a lecture on her latest book, “America’s Army: Making the All-Volunteer Force,” on Thursday.

“It’s an important topic now that we are fighting two wars,” Daniel Feller, professor in history at UT, said.

Feller said Bailey’s latest book is the story of the all-volunteer force, from the draft protests and policy proposals of the 1960s through the Iraq War. He said it is also a history of America in the post-Vietnam era.

“I think the military is different now because it’s not as glamorous as it used to be,” said Lauren Baylor, senior in English. “Now there are more serious and destructive weapons of warfare.”

Feller said the lecture should prove interesting because the professor and author usually speaks about fascinating topics. Feller has heard Bailey’s lectures in the past, as he is a former colleague of Bailey’s.

“She is one of the most lively and exciting women of history in modern culture,” Feller said. “She takes on interesting topics with wide relevance.”

Feller said people should enjoy Bailey’s lecture because she is speaking about a fascinating topic: the volunteer army.

The book also explores topics in gender, race and sexual orientation.

Baylor described what factor she thinks gender plays in the military.

“During WWI, race was a big deal,” she said. “I think it has progressed, but without personal experience, I don’t know if it’s an issue or not. Today, women are fighting, so the military has definitely changed. Now, it’s not such a big deal that women fight.”

Feller said the history of the Army in America has confronted the legacies of civil rights and black power, the women’s movement and gay rights.

He also said, in her book, Bailey talks about how the volunteer force raised questions about the meaning of citizenship and the rights and obligations it carries.

“Other topics the volunteer army exposes are whether liberty or equality is the more central American value and what role the military should play in American society, not only in time of war but in time of peace,” Feller said.

Feller said Bailey conducted research for her book through interviews with Army officers and recruiters, advertising executives and policymakers.

Feller said Bailey’s past work includes topics on the military, dating, marriage, love and sexuality, use of the birth control pill and historical looks at the 1950s and 1960s.

The former UT history professor has a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Chicago.

She has also received numerous awards, including the 2007 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award.

The lecture will take place at 5 p.m. in the UC Shiloh Room.