Clemente Veterans' Initiative: Providence, RI

FAIN: AV-266018-19

Clemente Course in the Humanities, Inc. (New York, NY 10065-8014)
Mark Edward Santow (Project Director: November 2018 to present)

Four 12-week Dialogues on the Experience of War seminars for between 15-20 military veterans and interested civilians per seminar, preceded by a preparatory program for ten seminar discussion leaders.

The Providence Clemente Veterans’ Initiative offers two 12-week Dialogues on the Experience of War, weaving together History, Moral Philosophy, Literature, Art History/Film and Public speaking. Aimed at veterans struggling with readjustment to civilian life, it is open to all regardless of discharge status. We developed this proposal based on two decades of experience with the Clemente Course, which offers free humanities courses to low-income adults, and after successful completion of a pilot program offering Clemente to veterans. Interdisciplinary exploration of the humanities, in community with others, enables veterans to make sense of their often profound and soul-shaking experiences. We will discuss the Peloponnesian War, the Civil War, Vietnam, and post-9/11 conflicts, as well as the internal conflicts that soldiers often experience in service and coming home. Vets will be taught to lead discussions themselves, bringing them into community and dialogue.

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