COURSE SYLLABUS
MORAL INJURY, VETERANS OF WAR,
AND COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY FOR SOUL REPAIR
REV. DR. RITA NAKASHIMA BROCK
PACIFIC SCHOOL OF RELIGION SUMMER SESSION, JULY 14-26, 2014
War destroys. It doesn’t just rip through bone and muscle, stone and steel; it fragments the mind
as a fist to a mirror might create thousands of bloodied, glittering shards.—Benjamin Piercy, in
his review of The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers.
3 Options for Credit:
• Week 1 (1.5 credits/2.0 CEUs):
M-F 1:30-5:30pm, July 14-18
• Weeks 1 & 2 & Conference (3.0 credits / 5.0 CEUs):
M-F 1:30-5:30pm, July 14-18;
M-W 1:30-5:30pm, July 21-23;
Th 1:30pm-9pm July 24; 9am-5:00pm July 25-26
• Conference Only (0 credits / 1.5 CEUs):
Th night - Sat., July 24-26
Course Description:
We will study the new concept of moral injury, especially in veterans of war, but
also in other forms of socially sanctioned violence and nonmilitary occupational contexts.
Recent works by Veterans Affairs clinicians have suggested that moral injury, which
remains largely unaddressed, may be a greater factor than PTSD in struggles with mental
health and the alarmingly high veteran suicide rate. We will explore precipitating
experiences that lead to moral injury, pathways to recovery, the role of communities, and
theological, ritual, and biblical implications of understanding it.
We will explore moral formation and military training, as well as the impact of
combat on conscience, bringing to bear, as well, neuroscience research on empathy and
ritual. We will reflect on theological understandings of soul and conscience, biblical
understandings of moral injury, the power of the arts and ritual in soul repair, and civilian
moral responsibility for the aftermath of war.
The goal of the first week of the seminar will be to study these ideas as they assist
in helping communities in the work of soul repair after war, violence, and other
conditions of extremity that challenge moral conscience. During the second week,
participants will continue researching areas of interest with a focus on effective
pedagogies for educating religious leaders and their communities, designing rituals for
soul repair, and creating a two-day conference to implement this work. The creation of a
conference will address not only content, but also the implicit pedagogy of conference
design. The last two days of the course will be the conference itself, which will conclude
with a course evaluation process.
Course Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1. Understand moral injury and its consequences especially in military veterans, but
2.
3.
4.
5.
also in civilian professions such as law enforcement and health care.
Articulate spiritual resources for addressing moral injury in relation to military
training.
Reflect upon and assess the relationship between Post Traumatic Stress and moral
injury and differing protocols for recovery from each.
See the implications of using moral injury as a lens to understanding sacred texts,
theological ideas, and spiritual resources.
Become more creative in the use of the arts and ritual in supporting recovery.
Common Required Resources:
Books
1. Rita Brock and Gabriella Lettini, Soul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury
After War. Boston: Beacon Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-0807029077. $24.95.
2. Jessica Goodell with John Hearn, Shade it Black: Death and After in Iraq.
Haverton, PA: Casemate, 2011. ISBN: 978-1612000015. $24.95.
3. Jonathan Shay, Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of
Character. New York: Scribner, 1984. ISBN: 978-0684813219. $15.00.
4. John Sippola, Donald Tubesing, and Amy Blumenshine, Welcome Them Home,
Help Them Heal: Pastoral Care and Ministry with Service Members Returning
from War. ISBN 1570252467. $12.00.
5. Reflective Practice, Volume 33, “Spirituality in Formation and Supervision”
entire issue http://journals.sfu.ca/rpfs/index.php/rpfs/issue/current.
6. Kevin Powers, The Yellow Birds, Back Bay Books, 2013. ISBN-13: 9780316219341.
7. Shelly Rambo, Spirit and Trauma: A Theology of Remaining. Louisville:
Westminster, 2012. ISBN 0664235034.
Articles and Videos:
8. Mary Margaret Alvarado, “The Beginning of the End of War,” Sojourners,
January 2014, http://sojo.net/magazine/2014/01/beginning-end-war.
9. Tyler Boudreau, “The Morally Injured” Massachusetts Review, downloadable
pdf at http://www.massreview.org/sites/default/files/Boudreau.pdf.
http://conscienceinwar.org/2010/07/25/tyler-boudreau-testimony-video/.
10. Brett Litz, et al, "Moral Injury and Moral Repair in War Veterans: A
preliminary model and Interview Strategy," Clinical Psychology Review.
11. Michael Matthews, "The Untold Story of Military Sexual Assault,"
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/25/opinion/the-untold-story-of-militarysexual-assault.html?src=recpb&_r=0.
12. Camilo Mejia, "Healing Moral
Injury," http://forusa.org/fellowship/2011/winter/healing-moral-injury/11606
13. Aristotle Papnikalaou, "The Aesthetics of War: The Undoing and Redoing of
Virtue” to be provided as a pdf by the instructor.
14. Michael Yandell, Personal Testimony about Moral Injury, November 10, 2012,
(11 min.), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-NdZ6p7oIs.
Recommended Readings:
15. Harry Croft and Chrys Parker, I Always Sit with my Back to the Wall. San
Antonio: Stillpoint Media, 2011. ISBN: 978-1890498436. $24.95.
16. Larry Dewey, War and Redemption: Treatment and Recovery in CombatRelated Traumatic Stress Disorder, Ashgate Pub Ltd, ISBN-13: 9780754641650. $46.97.
17. Ann M. Graybiel, “Habits, Ritual, and the Evaluative Brain,” Neuroscience,
2008, 31:359-87.
Grading Procedures:
• Week 1 Students:
o Attendance & Participation (includes Final Evaluation & Critical
Response Papers): 50%
o Final Project: Paper, Sermon, Adult Ed Project, etc. for those taking 1.5
credits 50%
• Weeks 1 & 2 Students:
o Attendance & Participation (includes Final Evaluation & Critical
Response Papers): 50%
o Conference (for those taking 3 credits): 50%
• CEU Students: Attendance & Participation (includes Final Evaluation & Critical
Response Papers): 100%
Requirements:
Attendance & Participation – Attendance and active, informed participation at all class
meetings. Some time will be spent in small group discussion, and each group will
take leadership in leading class discussion.
Daily Critical Reflection Papers – Each night, you should write a one-page critical
reflection paper on the readings and class discussion. To do this, set a timer for
ten minutes and write (or type) nonstop for the full ten minutes, without any
pause. Just keep writing while ignoring the mechanics of writing (spelling,
punctuation, etc.). Then, read what you wrote. Select your best thoughts, reflect
on why they matter to you, and compose a reflection paper of 300 words, based
on key insights of the ten-minute freewriting exercise.
Final Project for 1.5 credit course – A sermon, adult education lesson/curriculum,
research paper, or another major project, in consultation with the instructor and
others in the class.
Final Evaluation of 3 credit course – After the conference, the class will meet to
evaluate the two week period and the conference itself.
Course Schedule:
Because of the pace of an intensive course, I recommend that you read all the required
reading and view the video resources before the class begins. The general flow of the first
week of class will be (may be adjusted based on what happens each day):
For Monday: Introduction to the class and its members, Discussion of Class Flow and
Requirements
Introduction to Moral Injury
For Tuesday: Veteran Testimony
Viewing of film “Soldiers of Conscience”
Introduction to Deep Listening
Voices of Veterans
For Wednesday: Gender, Rape, Loss
Military Sexual Trauma
Voices of Veterans
Loss, Grief, Lamentation, and “Holy Saturday”
Theological, Textual, Spiritual Resources for Understanding Moral Injury and
Recovery
For Thursday: Coming Home
Resources and Processes for Recovery
Storytelling
Arts and Ritual Practices
For Friday: Long Term Living
Community Responsibility
Support Systems
Rituals to Reverse Boot Camp
Play and Equilibrium
Week Two: TBA, based on processes of first week, ending with a conference