night draws near

by mechanikal_hound

Summary:

Soap rested his thumb under the point of Ghost’s jaw and felt where his pulse was racing.

“This is illegal,” Ghost whispered.

“So is the war,” Soap pointed out. “Depending on who you ask.” Slowly, he ran his hand around the back of Ghost’s head and tilted it down.

Fuck, he shouldn’t be doing this. Not with his superior officer, and certainly not in the middle of their deployment to Baghdad, Iraq, 2003.

or: writing ghoap into the war machine

Chapter 1

Summary:

(story starts in the next chapter)

this is the digital bookshelf of what I’ve been researching as I write this fic. happy to give and receive recommendations on what to read!

Reading for historical accuracy:

Occupation of Iraq:
Night Draws Near, Anthony Shadid
The Forever War, Dexter Filkins
Imperial Life in the Emerald City, Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Special Forces operations in Iraq:
Task Force Black, Mark Urban
My Share of the Task, Gen. Stanley McChrystal
Relentless Strike, Sean Naylor

Reading for narrative:

Narratives by soldiers (and embedded journalists)
Generation Kill, Evan Wright
Redeployment, Phil Klay
Jarhead, Anthony Swafford
Violence of Action, Marty Skovlund Jr

Narratives about queer soldiers:
Bring Me Men, Anthony Belkin
Conduct Unbecoming, Randy Shilts

Gay literature by gay men:
Giovanni’s Room, James Baldwin
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong

Reading for theory:

Gender
Gender Trouble, Judith Butler
Masculinities, RW Connell

Empire
The Wretched of the Earth, Franz Fanon
Orientalism, Edward Said
Necropolitics, Achille Mbembe

Power, authority, command & control:
Discipline and Punishment, Michel Foucault
Warfighting (Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1)

 

Other things on my radar but have not read yet:

• Disability theory as the lens for veterans and PTSD

• Sports and athlete culture

• Militarism, civilian fantasies of war and manhood - why is soldiering cool?

• Counterinsurgency

• Intelligence, surveillance, policing