Reconciliation as [Lofty] Aim: A Genre Analysis of Iraq War-Era Women Veterans' Memoirs

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Date
2015-11
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Volume Title
Publisher
Virginia Tech
Abstract

Using the framework of rhetorical genre studies, this paper presents findings from an analysis of fifteen memoirs written by Iraq War-era women veterans. This work seeks to elucidate how the genre of "the war memoir" both permits and constrains women veterans' abilities to reconcile their identities post-military service. Studying the memoirs of Iraq War-era women veterans' of various races and sexualities, who served in a variety of Military Occupational Specialties (MOSs) and branches, reveals the heavy-handed influence of sex and gender on women's identities and their sense of agency within and beyond the U.S. military.

Description
Keywords
Women veterans, Rhetorical genre studies, Memoir, War literature, Gender studies, Iraq, ViS, Veterans in Society, Race and/or Reconciliation, the Third Conference on Veterans in Society
Citation