Planting the Oar: Veteran and civilian literature group

With 20 percent of students iden­tifying as military affiliated and the campus’ close proximity to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, it is safe to say that connecting veterans and civilians plays a crucial role in our commu­nity. To help support this connection, UW Tacoma is becoming part of a national discussion. Planting the Oar is a literary discussion group and two credit course that focuses on creating open and honest dialogue between veteran and civilian students at UWT. Meetings take place every Wednesday 5:15–6:45 p.m. in TLB 109.

Sponsored by the National En­dowment for the Humanities, Plant­ing the Oar is part of The Telling Project, an eight week national dis­cussion program. The group’s name is based on “The Odyssey,” and refers to Odysseus’ final ritual of leaving his military service behind and plant­ing his oar.

The program provides a platform for open dialogue between members to discuss questions such as: “What does it mean to plant the oar?” “What is necessary for veterans to ‘move on’ from their service?” “How are civil­ians understood by veterans?” and “What does it mean to be a ‘veteran’ and how do they navigate that iden­tity in a civilian world?”

Through literature and spoken word, the group connects civilians and veterans and attempts to cultivate mutual understanding and a support­ive community.

In addition to discussing “The Od­yssey,” the group will also touch on classic literature such as “Othello,” Wilfred Owen’s poetry and “The Things They Carried.” The group con­nects literary themes with current phenomena and issues such as home­lessness and mental health in veterans.

For more information, email
professor Annie Nguyen at
annien2@uw.edu