FORMER TEAM MEMBERS DAVID EISLER

DAVID EISLER

 

David Eisler joined the CAPAS publication team in September 2021 after working as a postdoctoral researcher with the Graduiertenkolleg “Authority and Trust” at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies, where he also completed his PhD. Prior to his doctoral studies, David was a research analyst at the Institute for Defense Analyses near Washington, DC. Between 2007 and 2012, he served on active duty in the United States Army, earning the rank of captain and completing overseas tours in Germany, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He received a bachelor’s degree in astrophysics from Cornell University in 2007 and a master’s in international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in 2014.

David’s forthcoming book, Unburdened: Civil-Military Relations and American War Fiction (University of Iowa Press), tells the story of how veteran-authors came to monopolize the cultural authority over the literary representation of war in the twentieth century, and how they have ceded that authority for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in response to changes in the relationship between the military and American society. His current research investigates how representations of scientists in literature, television, and film have contributed to the politicization of science in American society. 

In addition to his research and work at CAPAS, David also serves as an Associate Editor with Amerikastudien/American Studies, the official journal of the German Association for American Studies. His research and writing has appeared in The New York Times, War on the Rocks, The Daily Beast, Collier’s Magazine, Military Review, Drunken Boat, and the anthology of short fiction, 

The Road Ahead: Fiction from the Forever War

 (Pegasus Books, 2017).