The Material Soldier: Cultures of Consumerism and the GIs' Search for Identity in Vietnam

《物质士兵：消费主义文化和美国大兵在越南寻找身份认同》评估了越南战争期间的物质文化和消费行为是否在美国大兵（美国武装部队）对自己的身份、男子气概和服兵役的理解中发挥了关键作用。通过将个人收音机、Zippo打火机和制服等实物与士兵的信件、日记和口述历史进行对话，该项目探索了大本营文化微观世界中士兵与消费主义的关系。《物质战士》将拆解大兵的整体形象，展示种族、民族和阶级如何影响对个人身份、帝国和美国在世界上角色的看法；以及这些对象是如何协商的。它通过详细描述兵役，营地生活和消费主义之间的交叉点，为冷战史学做出了贡献，为士兵通过实物重新谈判他们的男子气概提供了新的见解。Christian Appy（1993）和Meredith Lair（2011）的研究为本项目提供了基础。Appy的《工人阶级战争》展示了征兵时的经济和种族统计数据，而Lair则详细描述了战争期间的巨大消费，将士兵描述为“富足的武装”，但却未能询问个人经历。这个项目利用士兵的物品和战前和战时的“男性儿童消费者”的概念，揭示个人经历和士兵对自我的认同。伊丽莎白·科恩（2003）和玛格丽特·皮科克（2014）的奖学金提供了1950年代美国消费的背景，以及这种消费如何转移到越南，而亚伦·贝尔金（2021）和安德鲁·休伯纳（2008）提供了军事男性气质和性别概念的理论框架。通过物质文化获取参与者的经验是越战史学中的一个新概念。本研究采用社会文化的方法，展示了地理信息系统在服役前和服役期间与物品的联系。该项目将追溯美国大兵的经历，从上世纪50年代“消费者共和国”时期他们对玩具武器的童年感受，到越南军营中定制军用装备。这项研究是第一个通过他们参与的对象来阐明美国大兵的身份和信仰的项目，为军事服务、美国希望如何重塑越南生活、美国公民身份和跨国消费主义以及美国大兵的政治和社会观点提供了新的视角。论文共六章，分为起源、对象和消费三部分。《起源》探索了美国的消费历史，探索了通过玩具将暴力商业化如何影响男孩对战争的看法。《目标》通过士兵在服役期间接触到的物品来分析他们的经历，将重新协商的制服、枪支和收音机与口述历史和其他主要资料进行对话。消费探索营地内的休闲消费，突出美国“消费者共和国”的海外转型，重点关注生活区、酒吧、音乐和娱乐。第一年将包括收集文献，研究和访问档案。在第二年，我将选择我的主要来源，文献和草稿章节。六章中的三章将在第二年年底前起草。在最后一年，我将进一步发展和完成准备提交的章节。

The Material Soldier: Cultures of Consumerism and the GIs' Search for Identity in Vietnam assesses whether material culture and acts of consumption during the Vietnam War played a pivotal role in GIs' (United States Armed Forces) understanding of their identity, masculinity and military service. By putting material objects such as personal radios, Zippo Lighters and uniforms into conversation with soldier's letters, diaries and oral histories, this project explores soldiers' relationship with consumerism within the microcosm of base camp culture. The Material Soldier will unpick the monolithic image of GIs, exhibiting how race, ethnicity and class influenced perceptions of personal identity, empire and the U.S. role in the world; as well as how these objects were negotiated. It contributes to Cold War historiography by detailing the intersections between military service, camp life and consumerism, providing new insights into soldier's renegotiation of their masculinity through material objects.Christian Appy (1993) and Meredith Lair's (2011) research provides the basis of this project. Appy's Working-Class War displayed the economic and racial demographics of the draft, while Lair detailed vast consumption during the war, depicting soldiers as "armed with abundance", yet failed to interrogate personal experience. This project uses soldiers' objects and the concept of the "male child consumer"before and during the war, to uncover personal experiences and GIs' identification of self. Scholarship by Lizabeth Cohen (2003) and Margaret Peacock (2014) provide context on 1950's American consumption and how this transposed into Vietnam, while Aaron Belkin (2021) and Andrew Huebner (2008) provide theoretical framework on concepts of military masculinity and gender.Accessing participants' experience through material culture is a new concept within Vietnam War historiography. Adopting a socio-cultural approach, this research displays GIs' connection to objects before and during service. The project will trace GIs' exposure from the childhood connections they felt to toy weaponry in the "Consumers' Republic" of the 1950s to the customisation of military-issued items in Vietnamese base camps. This research is the first project to elucidate the identity and beliefs of GIs through the objects they engaged with, offering new perspectives on military service, how America hoped to reshape life in Vietnam, American citizenship and transnational consumerism, and GI's political and social views.The thesis consists of six chapters divided into three sections - Origins, Objects and Consumption. Origins explores America's consumption history, exploring how the commercialisation of violence through toys influenced boys' perceptions of war. Objects analyses GIs' experience through items they engaged with during service, putting renegotiated uniforms, guns and radios into dialogue with oral histories and other primary sources. Consumption explores recreational consumption within base camps highlighting the transposition of America's "Consumers' Republic" overseas, focusing on living quarters, bars, music and entertainment. The first year will consist of gathering literature, researching and visiting archives. Within the second year I will select my key sources, literature, and draft chapters. Three of the six chapters willbe drafted by the end of second year. During the final year, I will further develop and finalise the chapters ready for submission.