Ryan Menath
Air Force Academy
Lt Col Ryan Menath serves as an assistant professor of history at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He received a Masters of Arts in 2012 and a Doctorate of Arts in 2018 from the University of North Dakota. His teaching and research focus broadly on American and Military history, though his concentration is primarily on colonial warfare through the War of 1812. His most recent project is hosting The History of Warfare podcast, which follows three military history instructors as they think about teaching military history. Lt Col Menath is also an active duty pilot with multiple combat deployments in several aircraft; his pedagogy reflects an operational mindset geared towards future leaders.
Undergraduate Syllabi
The American Revolution
A comprehensive examination of the American Revolution and the War for Independence that it spawned from the conclusion of the French and Indian War in 1763 to the Treaty of Paris in 1783. This course will evaluate the political, ideological, economic, and religious causes for the rupture with Great Britain, provide in-depth coverage of the course of the war, as well as the enduring significance of the colonists’ improbable victory on United States’ nationalism and its military establishment.
The American Way of War
This course surveys the history of American warfare from the colonial period to the present and examines the history of American national security. It focuses primarily on the character of American warfare and addresses the question of whether there is a peculiar American way of war or approach to national security. The course deals with such issues as the American attitude toward war, civil-military relations, force structure, the role of professional leadership, national security issues, and the impact of technology.