Expanding the Warrior's Path: War, Moral Injury and Reclaiming the Soul

FAIN: AV-271040-20

Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee, WI 53233-2237)
Katinka Hooyer (Project Director: October 2019 to present)

An expansion of a 2018 Dialogues on the Experience of War project that focuses on moral injury from the experience of war, with extended discussion leader training and a revised syllabus.

In a society that focuses on posttraumatic stress disorder as the dominant narrative to describe the personal cost of war, the deeper moral or spiritual suffering veterans experience remains obscured. These moral and spiritual dialogues are key to developing civic understanding of the war experience and require sustained discussions over time. What types of moral injuries do wars create? How do veterans' varying identities influence their experiences and how can we think more deeply about such suffering? This program synthesizes poetry, Shakespeare’s plays and graphic novels to explore the nature and diversity of moral injury. Warrior’s Path will train six veterans as Discussion Leaders to facilitate two series of 10-week veteran-to-veteran discussion groups and five veteran-to-civilian dialogues. The program aims to prepare veterans to publicly discuss the moral impact of war, thus cultivating a deeper civic understanding of this experience.

Associated Products

Warriors Path II Veteran Discussion Leader Training (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Warriors Path II Veteran Discussion Leader Training
Author: Katinka Hooyer, PhD
Author: Nancy Smith Watson MA
Author: Patricia Clason
Author: John Zemler PhD
Author: Mark Foreman
Author: Sharon Lehrman
Author: Heather Sattler
Abstract: This 40-hour training prepared veterans to lead difficult spiritual and moral discussions around the experience of war and service.
Year: 2021
Audience: Other

Warriors Path II The Power of War Comics Discussion Guide (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Warriors Path II The Power of War Comics Discussion Guide
Author: Katinka Hooyer, PhD
Author: Vera Roddy
Author: Jacob Schultz, MA
Author: Dan Kasza
Abstract: In this Warrior’s Path series, we will read and discuss the graphic novel, The White Donkey by Terminal Lance comic artist and Veteran, Maximilian Uriarte. We will also read comics from the collection True War Stories and the Cartoonist Veteran Project. Comics and graphic novels have a way of expressing experiences 3-dimensionally through words, visuals, and the ability to convey multiple events happening at once. In this 10-week, Vet-to-Vet dinner and discussion series, you will read comics together and engage in structured small-group conversations around military service, deployments, and coming home. The program was designed with our NEH-certified Veteran discussion leaders who facilitate these sessions. The goal is to explore and define moral injury in your own personal experience as well as come to an understanding of those veterans who had different experiences.
Year: 2021
Audience: Other

Warriors Path II Theater: The Warriors Art Form (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Warriors Path II Theater: The Warriors Art Form
Author: Katinka Hooyer, PhD
Author: Nancy Smith-Watson, MA
Author: Jacob Schultz, MA
Author: Yolanda Medina
Author: Charlie Walton
Author: Dan Kasza
Author: Carlos Munoz, II
Author: Vera Roddy
Abstract: Theater is historically the Warrior’s art form, invented for returning soldiers to share their experiences with their communities. There is no evidence that Shakespeare himself served although it was common during his era, and he would have had extensive second-hand knowledge. His dramatic explorations of war and service include a wide range of characters and stories. Some are historically accurate and some fictional. We will read the scenes (the lines will be fed to you by actors) and then use the stories as an entry point to discuss moral injury, service, and coming home. This Vet-to-Vet series is led by NEH-certified Veteran discussion leaders.
Year: 2021
Audience: Other

Veteran Humanities: Using Military Comics and Shakespeare to understand Moral injury in Veterans (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: Veteran Humanities: Using Military Comics and Shakespeare to understand Moral injury in Veterans
Author: Katinka Hooyer PhD, MS
Author: Leslie Ruffalo PhD, MS
Author: Jacob Schultz MA
Author: Nancy Smith-Watson, MA
Abstract: This presentation’s goal is to increase understanding of the evolving concept of moral injury and its impact on military Veterans. The design, implementation, and results of a humanities intervention for moral injury in Veterans will be discussed. The presentation will provide a comparative analysis of two NEH-funded projects that used military comics and scene work from Shakespeare’s plays as an entry point to explore and come to a deeper understanding of moral injury. Learning objectives: • Identify and contrast clinical definitions of moral injury and reconstructed definitions from the program participants' point of view • Describe program results and impact on moral injury symptoms • Relate the medical benefits and potential impact of arts & humanities- based programming on clinical conditions
Date Range: January 10, 2022

Reading out Loud Together: Using participatory performance for the communal healing of institutional betrayals. (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: Reading out Loud Together: Using participatory performance for the communal healing of institutional betrayals.
Author: Katinka Hooyer, PhD, MS and Nancy Smith-Watson
Abstract: We will share our method of ritualized communal reading developed for military veterans healing from the moral injuries of war. We acknowledge that moral wounds are in complex relationship with perpetrators, victims and witnesses. Our approach uses humanties texts such as comics, poems and historical plays, as an entry point to discuss the spiritual and ethical dimensions of service and betrayal. With the help of facilitators, participants may choose to “act” a short scene that contains a familiar moral wound. This will be followed by a structured discussion. Reading the stories out loud allows participants to enact emotions through the characters, offering cover from personal exposure. The visceral experience, for both “actor” and audience allows for a greater depth of dialogue around these wounds. In our experience, this creates a strong sense of belonging through collective suffering and opportunities for communal repair. With special techniques that ensure success with the unfamiliar language, participants are guided through the powerful poetry and stories of Shakespeare and the multidimensional graphic storytelling of comics. Following the participatory performance and dialogue demonstration, we will discuss how the method and tools might provide people with opportunities to co-create new language around moral repair. Our intention is to expand this method beyond the veteran community to other groups that have experienced institutional betrayals.
Date Range: October 14-16, 2022

Navigating Multiple Identities in the Context of Moral Injury using Military Comics (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: Navigating Multiple Identities in the Context of Moral Injury using Military Comics
Author: Katinka Hooyer, PhD, MS
Author: Vera Roddy
Abstract: Problem: The positionality and multiple identities of female veterans at the intersections of race, ethnicity, and gender impact the experience of moral injury. Exploring and validating these experiences is critical to create a deeper understanding of these wounds. Program: The Warriors Path: War, Moral Injury and Reclaiming the Soul is a National Endowment for the Humanities funded program that used military comics to develop a moral injury lexicon for women Veterans with military sexual trauma. Approach: The discussion group used graphic novels, comics, poetry, prose, and art to facilitate discussions of moral injury (MI) in the context of ageism, disability, ethnicity, gender neutrality, homophobia, marital/relationship status, national origin, racism, religion, sexism, socio-economic class, and many other topics. Results: Several Women Veterans identified institutional betrayal, familial betrayal, military training, lack of post-deployment recuperation period, as their primary MI. All participants agreed liked using humanities-based formats to help them dig deeper and reframe the social injustice they experienced. Notably, participants did not endorse the moral injury definitions of psychiatry or psychology. They did endorse the definitions provided by philosophy and chaplaincy. This presentation will introduce our approach and discuss program impact on social justice-related issues.
Date Range: June 8, 2023

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