Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – Department of Conflict Resolution Studies

First Advisor

Ismael Muvingi

Second Advisor

Elena P. Bastidas

Third Advisor

Judith McKay

Keywords

humanitarianism, Junction City, Kansas, Fort Riley, Kansas, thematic narrative inquiry, womenwarograhy, women and war, women military spouses, women military veterans

Abstract

There has been significant attention paid to localized humanitarianism initiatives by women military spouses in military communities. What has been missing from the discourse is the study of the intersections between military veterans and military spouses, particularly as relates to women. This study seeks to bridge the gaps in understanding the experiential intersections between women military veterans and women military spouses. Additionally, the study introduces womenwarography: the tri-fold, collective study of women, war, and humanitarianism. Thematic narrative inquiry methodology was applied to explore and comparatively analyze the experiences between eight women military veterans and eight women military spouses in Junction City, Kansas. Junction City is a predominately military community, just outside Fort Riley, a massive United States Army infantry installation. The research question was: How do women military veterans and women military spouses, in Junction City, Kansas define their experiences with war and humanitarianism in Junction City, Kansas? Points of intersection included participants’ intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts as well as, resilience around familial relationships, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicide. The findings revealed that the two populations weaved uncustomary connections through humanitarian engagement as a method of coping with the stresses of military contexts and impacts of war.

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