Society For Military History Conference

Many people are discussing their attendance at upcoming religious and Mormon history conferences. But I couldn't attend because I am off to the yearly SMH conference. The Society For Military History is the premier academic body in the study of military history and I am honored to present at this years conference. You can find the homepage here, and the presentation list here.

Of course this doesn't have any direct relation to warfare in The Book of Mormon. But this does speak to my general competence in the field. It also undermines the common anti mormon trope that I'm not respected in my field due to my research into The Book of Mormon. In fact, one of my fellow presenters has expressed favorable interest in my research. What follows is the prospectus of my paper:

MILITARY THEORY AND PRACTICE IN THE SINO-JAPANESE KOREAN WAR (1592-1598): THE CONTINUING RELEVANCE OF THE SEVEN MILITARY CLASSICS DURING THE “GUNPOWDER REVOLUTION”

The Gunpowder Revolution is dominant in the description of Early Modern European warfare. This concept colors historians perception of non Western, and particularly Chinese adoption of gunpowder weapons and its effect on military theory. But a detailed study of Chinese general Li Rusong’s campaign during The Sino-Japanese Korean War (1592-1598) reveals a surprisingly close adherence to classic military principles espoused in books such as Sun Tzu’s Art of War. The use of these principles by Li Rusong argues for a less revolutionary approach to the adoption of gunpowder weapons. Instead, using Li as an example, this paper will argue that the theory within The Seven Military Classics remained as instructional and relevant after the dominance of gunpowder weapons as before it.

Thanks for reading!