Veterans of recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are at notably high risk for numerous mental health disorders. Research suggests that psychological resilience, or the capacity to successfully adapt in the face of adversity, may protect against such conditions. The present study explored differences in resilience levels and associated psychosocial factors among racial groups in a large and relatively diverse sample of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Although minorities make up a significant portion of the military, little work has investigated resilience in minority veterans.

“Settler Dreams and Affective Warfare: The Communications Campaign that Formatted the United States of America” proposes a methodology of analysis which considers consideration of culture products as intentional war messaging, or what is commonly referred to in military circles, as psychological operations (PSYOPS). By conducting a close reading of Indigenous representation, and the rhetoric that surrounded its production in the films, mascots, and comic books of the 20th century, this dissertation argues that the purpose of what we think of as Indian tropes was to further a wartime message of national identity creation and further that culture products are the best strategic weapon available to minoritarian subjects in the present for altering national identity formation.