The photographs in Claire Beckett’s debut monograph Defense Language (Gost Books) shows costumed role-players, elaborate Hollywood-inspired sets and staged tableaus on military bases across the United States. Beckett embedded herself on these bases between 2006 and 2023 to explore the depiction of Arabs and Muslims during counterinsurgency training for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Claire will be at Palm Press Thursday, December 4 to talk about the work and sign copies of the book.