Notes from the Field
2024 Peace & War Summit and the International Forum for Peace, Security & Prosperity
It has been a week full of great student experiences, filled with enriching learning opportunities, exciting discoveries, and meaningful interactions both inside and outside the classroom. From engaging discussions at an international conference to scholarly discussions in a more local setting, students have embraced challenges with enthusiasm, fostering growth and collaboration. This week has been a testament to the vibrant and dynamic learning environment that Norwich students thrive in, leaving lasting impressions and memories to cherish.
On Friday, March 15th, five Norwich students along with center director, Dr. Travis Morris, traveled to Palermo, Sicily to join a number of other military academies in attendance at the International Forum on Peace, Security & Prosperity (IFPSP) held March 17 to 20. This is the second year Norwich students have attended this event.
The theme of the 2024 Forum was “The Impact of Contemporary Tensions, Conflicts and War on Large International Institutions”. Current events in Russia, the South China Sea and in Africa are testing the resilience of International Institutions. Forum participants explored the impact of tensions both external to and internal to the institutions charged with supporting and maintaining our current world order.
The IFPSP, a federally registered “Not for Profit” corporation in Canada, was founded in 2019 with the mission to learn from the past, to educate and inform future generations of the history of peace in the world, and to bring a heightened level of reasoning to the discussion of what achieves, in this digital age, lasting peace, security and prosperity.
Recap of Day 2 in Palermo, Italy at the International Forum for Peace, Security, & Prosperity (IFPSP).
The day started with a walk of remembrance and peace along with a wreath laying ceremony to honor the fallen military soldiers from WWII.
The first panel of the conference was for women in peace and security. A group of amazing and influential women shared life stories and talked about the 4 pillars of bringing up women; Participation, Protection, Prevention, and Relief & Recovery. All of the cadets then participated in a small group exercise comparing these 4 pillars to the 8 pillars of positive peace which is the basis of the IFPSP goal.
Check out other images of their adventures over on our Instagram, at this link.
On Monday, March 18, the Norwich campus community was able to explore the theme of “War, Memory, and Reconciliation” at our 2024 Peace & War Summit.
One of our fabulous cadets spent the day recapping each session as he watched them. A recap of each session is below:
9:00 to 9:50 AM | Keynote Address by William McCollough, VP of Student Affairs & 56th Commandant of Cadets
Today the 5th Peace and War Summit began at 0900 with the subject title being "War, Memory and Reconciliation," Professor Yangmo Ku opened the summit by talking about the effects of war and its generational effects on us and on our society and other societies around the world.
The Keynote speaker (Ret USMC Col.) VSM BG. William McCollough discusses the effects of his memories of his time in the USMC how those memories have affected his leadership and how he wants to share it with the students. BG. McCollough talked about the power of memories and how they have affected his life from the time he spent with his kids. He went on to talk about the lives of several others how they wrote their stories down and how the things they remember are sometimes incomplete because of how stressful their situations may have been. The most important statement that was given by BG McCollough is; "There is no straight line to War, Memory, and Reconciliation because of how different people's experiences can be..." this statement puts into perspective how war makes it hard for people to reconcile their experiences and with others. In the end, BG McCollough recommends we read "The General," to better understand his point of reconciliation.
10:00 to 10:50 AM | Panel Session I
At the 10am session, Professor Bennett and Professor Sodergren talked about the various wars that the US was involved in prior to the French and Indian War and the effects of the Civil War. Professor Bennett discusses the colonial wars and how they have affected the US and in one of our most important historical events the Boston Tea Party. Professor Bennett answers the question "What was the context behind the dressing up as Native Americans?" Professor Bennett identifies 4 different events where colonists dressed up as Native Americans along with several points grounded by several colonial wars. The first example of colonists dressing up is in 1734 when the British were chased out of a New Hampshire town by colonists who dressed up as Native Americans. He identifies this phenomenon being rooted in the American search for an identity outside of Europe.
Professor Sodergren talks about the legacy of the Civil War and the first war criminal Henery Wirz who was executed in Washington D.C. Professor Sodergren talks about the prison that was led by Henery Wirz that led to the death of 1/3rd of the prison population. Professor Sodergren talks about the various policies of Andersonville that led to the death of so many prisoners and how it affected the relationship between the North and the South post-Civil War and how this strained reconciliation between the two regions.
11:00 to 11:50 AM | Panel Session II
In the 11am session, Professor Emily Grey and Dr. Timothy Parker talk about celebrations of peace that are brought because of war. The focus of Professor Grey's is the Great Peace Festival. She begins talking about the 30 Years War and the absolute destruction that was caused by the conflict. She talks about the trading of churches and the constant strife that happened in the city of Augsburg. Professor Grey lets us look at the art from the two positions of the Thirty Years War one side Protestant and the other Catholic. Professor Grey talks about the evolution of the Augsburg Peace Festival from a Lutheran victory celebration to a multi-religious and multi-ethnic, cultural event.
Dr. Parker in his presentation how architecture can help with the Reconciliation from war. Dr. Parker talks about the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral and how its Architectural design plays into the theme of Reconciliation. In the presentation, Dr. Baker showed us the art that took place in the Cathedral but he harkens everything to the architecture of the ruins and the windows which have been engraved with angles, saints, and holy beings.
1:00 to 1:50 PM | Panel Session III
At the 1pm session, we look at how war has affected the political climates in Europe, the Middle East, and the world. Dr. Pivetti in his presentation talks about emotional memory and how this is affected by war and conflict and what this means for various aspects of our lives and the history of our literature. He goes on to demonstrate how these emotions tell the tale of a collective experience of shame in England around the time of Shakespeare. He then goes on to demonstrate with his examples of shame being used as a catalyst for the building of our national identity.
Professor Ward talks about the last leg end of the DDR in East Germany during the Cold War. When he talks about the experiences of individuals in East Germany during the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the East. Professor Ward uses the unification of Germany and the important social networks that helped with the reconciliation between both east and west.
2:00 to 2:50 PM | Panel Session IV
At the 2pm session, Dr. Lyle Goldstein and Professor Yangmo Ku tackle reconciliation and future peace in Asia. Dr. Goldstein talks about the relationship between Japan and China and he shows several news reports from China that talk about possible hostile actions that could happen. He then goes on to talk about the atrocities Japan had committed during the Second World War and he talks about how this issue isn't very well understood. Dr. Goldstein criticized Japan's lack of attempts to apologize and actually atone for the actions committed and he relates it to a massive security issue in the Pacific.
Professor Yangmo Ku covers the relationship between the Koreas and Japan. The first question that Professor Ku tackles is how has Japan apologized for their past action in doing so he comes to the same conclusion that not much has been done and he goes to talk about how Japan struggles to address these issues with the Koreas.
3:00 to 4:30PM | Panel Session V
For the 3pm session, our student presenters share their research with us the first being the growing Chinese interest in the Russian-Ukrainian War. The first presenter Michael Cathy discusses why China didn't immediately support the Russian attack on Ukraine. He discussed several independent variables ranging from NATO sentiment to the geopolitical situation it finds itself in and lastly the economic relationship between Russia and China.
The second presentation was given by August Guerrieri where he discussed the Donbas Separatist movement. He starts with a historical review of the situation that led to the revolt in the Donbas region where he states that Russia had hijacked the independence movement. August talks about the cultural, religious, political, and national splits that caused an influx of foreign fighters.
The third presentation is given by Kaleb Hogan where he talks about the transnational repression by China and Russia where he focused his research to the United States. The first method Kaleb mentions is the surveillance Russia and China do in order to obtain information on citizens. The second method he talks about is prescribed threats which is anywhere from assaults to assassinations. The third method is coercion by proxy where family members or friends are used as a means of persuasion. Next is the control of movement however this is done primarily outside of the US.
The last student presentation is by Ethan Trask which is on the Perspectives of Confederate soldiers during the First World War. Ethan goes over various literature that helped him in his research. Ethan goes over early forms of trench warfare in the earlier half of the Civil War to the latter half of World War One. He talks about the growth of the Lost Cause narrative. Ethan talks about the feelings and sympathies the Confederate soldiers had for the Allies during the First World War. He then talks about how WW1 caused the growth of patriotism in the United States amongst Confederate veterans and their families.