Dr. Travis Martin
Travis L. Martin, PhD, is founding director of the Kentucky Center for Veterans Studies at Eastern Kentucky University. He has established several nationally recognized programs to support returning veterans in higher education and the non-profit sector. A scholar of American literature, psychoanalytic trauma theory and social theory, Dr. Martin presents frequently at conferences and universities. He has published dozens of research articles and creative short works on veterans’ issues. A former sergeant in the U.S. Army, he served during two deployments in the Iraq War (2003-04 & 2005). His book War and Homecoming was published by the University Press of Kentucky in 2022. Dr. Martin lives in Richmond, Kentucky.
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Education
- PhD, Literature, U of Kentucky
- MA, Student Personnel Services in Higher Ed, Eastern Kentucky U
- MA, English, Eastern Kentucky U
- Graduate Certificate, Social Theory, U of Kentucky
- BA, English, Eastern Kentucky U
Courses Taught
- Applied Learning in Veterans Studies (Internships / Co-ops)
- American War Literature
- Business Writing and Communication
- Composition and Communication
- Foundations of Learning
- Intro to Film
- Intro to American Literature
- Intro to Veterans Studies
- Intro to Women and Gender Studies
- Masculinities and War
- Veteran Identity Theory
- Veterans Studies Capstones
Selected Publications
- “Phantom Weapon Syndrome,” American Imago
- “Working Through Societal Trauma in The Last Flight, Heroes for Sale, and All Quiet on the Western Front,” War, Literature and the Arts
- “Modernism and War: From David Jones to Brian Turner,” Great War Modernism: Artistic Response in the Context of War, 1914-1918
- “War, Witness, Modernism and David Jones’s Subversive Voice,” War, Literature and the Arts
- “All Things Swim and Glimmer: Pragmatic Conceptions of Self and ‘the old Lie’ in Thomas Wentworth Higginson’s ‘A Night in the Water’,”Forum for Modern Language Studies
- “Reality and Anti-Reality in WWI and WWII Memoirs,” War, Literature and the Arts
- “Combat in the Classroom: A Writing and Healing Approach to Teaching Student Veterans,” Writing on the Edge
Service Roles
- Board of Directors, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society
- Editorial Board, Journal of Veterans Studies
- Member, Client Community Stakeholder Board, Lexington, KY VET Center
- Review Board, Journal of First-Year Experience and Students in Transtion
- Chapter Advisor, Alpha Lambda Delta, Eastern Kentucky University
- Chapter Advisor, Veterans Studies Alliance, Eastern Kentucky University
- Member, Staff Council, Eastern Kentucky University
- Innovator-in-Residence, Faculty Innovators, Eastern Kentucky University
- Title IX Advisor, Equity & Inclusion, Eastern Kentucky University
- Member, Equity Complaint Council, Eastern Kentucky University
- Member, Academic Planning and Assessment Committee, Eastern Kentucky University
Selected Media Coverage
- “Veterans Studies Students Set Sights on Careers in Mental Health,” WEKU
- “Colonels Create Community with Art,” EKU Stories
- “Young Alumni Award Winner, Travis Martin,” EKU Alumni Association
- “Dr. Travis Martin Interview,” Veterans in Academics
- “The Story of Veterans Studies at EKU,” Eastern Standard
- “Wordcommandos: Encouraging Veterans to write and submit their works,” VAntage Point
- “Warrior Voices: Veterans Learn to Write the Words They Could Not Speak,” New York Times
- “A Million Strong: Helping Them Through,” New York Times
- “Front Line Instructors,” Inside Higher Ed
- “To Shed One’s Sickness,” American Legion