Transatlantic Perspectives on the Present and Future of Moral Injury

An international conference taking place in Durham, UK, on 19-21 April 2023, marking the launch of the International Centre for Moral Injury

Scope

Since scholars began to study Moral Injury in the 1990s, notably in connection with the military experience, it has grown in acceptance and usage across the world and across many academic disciplines. However, due to the complexity of the phenomenon and its rootedness in particular cultural values, the term resists straightforward definition and the multidisciplinary attention it has received has resulted in a variety of descriptions that identify different facets of it – particularly as it is identified in areas beyond the military and veteran communities. Furthermore, there is an emerging consensus that the spiritual and religious dimensions of woundedness, treatment and healing must be incorporated into this discourse. Recent global events – notably the COVID-19 pandemic, the fall of Afghanistan, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - offer opportunities for reflection and dialogue about the past, present and future of the concept.

While Moral Injury is deeply influenced by cultural values that vary among and within societies, there remains a dearth of opportunity for cross-cultural dialogue. In light of this and the developments named above, Durham University, in collaboration with the United States Army War College, present a conference marking the launch of the International Centre for Moral Injury. Hosted in Durham, UK, the central theme of the conference is the present and future conceptualisation, application and treatment of Moral Injury. A complementary conference, planned to feature the same topics, will be held at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania, USA, on 7-9 November 2023. The information below is about the Durham, UK, conference taking place in April. 

Venue

The conference will take place at Durham University in the North East of England. The venue will be St Chad's College (pictured) which is in the historic city centre and 20 metres from Durham's World Heritage Site which comprises the magnificent Norman cathedral and castle in their dramatic position on top of the steep wooded banks of the River Wear. The address is St Chad's College, 18 North Bailey, Durham DH1 3RH.

Programme

The conference will begin in the early afternoon of 19 April (1.15pm registration for a 2pm start) and end at 1pm on 21 April.

Keynote speakers

Revd Dr Brian Powers

Brian is the Executive Director of the ICMI and the inaugural Bernard William Vann Fellow in Christianity and the Armed Forces at Durham University. He is a former US Air Force Special Operations Weather Team officer, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Brian has written and spoken extensively on the importance of worldview, ethics, and religious dialogue in rebuilding moral frameworks through which morally injured persons may find meaning and solace both in American and British contexts. He is the author of Full Darkness: Original Sin, Moral Injury, and Wartime Violence (Eerdmans, 2019). 

Chaplain (Colonel) Timothy Mallard PhD

Timothy is Director of Ethical Development and College Chaplain at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA, USA. In 2020, he served as the Senior Editor of A Persistent Fire: The Strategic Ethical Impact of World War I on the Global Profession of Arms (the National Defense University Press) and his book Moral Injury and 21^st Century Warfare: Afghanistan, Iraq and Beyond (Stone Tower Press) will be published in 2023. His major areas of scholarly work in Moral Injury now lie in exploring strategic catalysts for woundedness, the reflexive nature of both woundedness and healing across human relationships, and the allied topics of spiritual injury and post-traumatic growth. 

Respondent

Dr Rita Nakashima Brock

We are delighted to welcome Rita to the conference, where she will act as a discussant. Rita is Senior Vice President and Director of the Shay Moral Injury Center at Volunteers of America. A noted theologian, Rita was also the Founding Director of the Soul Repair Center at Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University. She is co-author of Soul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury after War (Beacon Press, 2012) and Proverbs of Ashes: Violence, Redemptive Suffering and the Search for What Saves Us (Beacon Press, 2001). She is a leading expert on moral injury and has offered training programmes for mental health providers, for professional chaplains, and for veterans and their families.

Schedule

Day 1

1.15pm Registration with tea and coffee

2pm Welcome by Revd Dr Brian Powers (Durham University)

11.45am Reflection by Dr Rita Nakashima Brock (Shay Moral Injury Center, Volunteers of America)

Registration

The standard registration fee is 220 GBP; students are eligible to register for the subsidised registration fee of 170 GBP. This registration fee includes refreshments, dinner on 19 April, and lunch and dinner on 20 April.

In addition, some overnight accommodation at the conference venue, St Chad's College, is available to book as part of the registration process. Single en-suite rooms including breakfast are offered at cost price of 63.00 GBP per night. They are available for the nights of 19 and 20 April on a first-come-first-served basis.

The extended registration deadline is at 11.59pm BST (UK time) on Tuesday 28 March 2023.

Register now

Queries

If you have any questions about the conference, please don't hesitate to contact us by emailing icmi@durham.ac.uk or by leaving a message on +44 (0) 191 33 47470.