Military sociologist to discuss
cultural legacy of defeat in Vietnam

KINGSTON, R.I. -- November 9, 1999 -- James William Gibson, a sociology professor at the University of California, Long Beach, will speak on "Warrior Dreams: The Cultural Legacy of Defeat in Vietnam," as part of the University of Rhode Island's fall honors colloquium series, "Legacies of the Vietnam War." Gibson will argue that America's defeat in Vietnam led to the development of a new mythic hero, called the paramilitary warrior, who fought outside conventional military and police units to defeat demonic enemies and restore the U.S. to a pre-Vietnam, pre-feminist, pre-civil rights social order.

Gibson will speak in the Barry Marks Auditorium, Room 271 of the Chafee Social Science Center on URI's Kingston Campus, Nov. 16 from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Gibson received his bachelor of arts at the University of Texas at Austin, and his masters and doctorate degrees at Yale University. He has taught at various colleges and universities, including Yale and Cornell University. He specializes in environmental sociology, military and political sociology, social theory and knowledge, qualitative methods, and culture.

Gibson has authored many publications including three books: Warrior Dreams: Paramilitary Culture in Post-Vietnam America, Making War/Making Peace: Social Foundations of Violent Conflict, and The Perfect War: Technowar in Vietnam.

Gibson has also been an active member of the Peace and War section of the American Sociological Association, serving as treasurer, council member, associate editor of the Peace and War section newsletter, and a member of its nominations committee.

URI's Colloquium series runs Tuesday nights from 7:30 to 9 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

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For More Information: Jan Sawyer, 401-874-2116