The United States and the War(S) in Vietnam

Nancy BristowOffice Hours:

Office: Wyatt 140M/W/F 9:00-11:00

Phone: 879-3173and by appointment

History 361

The United States and the War(s) in Vietnam

Thewar in Vietnam ended forty years ago this spring, and yet Americans in many ways still live in the shadow of that war. In the 2004 and 2008 president elections, the service record of major candidates—both John Kerry and John McCain—played a central role in discussions of their fitness for office. Even more obviously, throughout United States involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistanboth supporters and detractors turned to the war in Vietnam to defend their positions and to criticize those of their opponents. In addition to this public power, the war continues to exert almost overwhelming influence in the private lives of many individual Americans, shaping their relationships to the world and the people around them despite the passage of decades. As one veteran wrote a few years ago, “I haven’t really slept in twenty years. I lie down, but I don’t sleep.” As these examples suggest, the war continues to influence the United States—in domestic politics and foreign affairs, in public culture and private lives.

This course investigates American involvement in Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam. We will focus our energies on the years of the Second Indochina War (1954-1975), exploring particularly the meaning and experience of American involvement for the United States and its citizens. At the same time, the course will attempt to broaden our understanding of these core subjects by placing them in the context of an international history. We will begin our studies with a brief exploration of the history of Vietnam before and during French colonial control, seeking to understand the roots of Vietnamese nationalism and communism and their growth during World War Two and the First Indochina War. Using the early Cold War as our context, we will investigate the rising American commitment first to France’s war and then to creating a nation of South Vietnam after 1954. From here we will explore in some detail the escalation of American involvement in Vietnam and its consequences both in Southeast Asia and in the United States. A consideration of the events of 1968, the Nixon presidency and the twin processes of Vietnamization and expansion will lead us to American withdrawal and the end of the war, first for Americans in 1973, and then for the Vietnamese following the collapse of South Vietnam and the reunification of the country in 1975. Finally, the course will consider several legacies of the war, as well as this nation’s capacity to reckon with the war and its meaning.

Though the course takes a roughly chronological approach, within this broad framework we will have the opportunity to explore a wide range of topics and issues. The war in Vietnam continues to spark significant disagreement among historians, offering us countless opportunities to explore unresolved but highly contested questions and debates. Some of the issues we will explore include: Why did the United States first get involved in Vietnam and to the eventual expansion of the American effort? What motivated our Vietnamese allies? Our opponents? Why were Americans so polarized about this war? What were the experiences of the men and women who served in Vietnam? How did social identity—in particular class, race and gender—shape experiences of this war both in Vietnam and in the United States? Was this war more brutal than other wars, and if so, how and why? What have been the long-term meanings of their service for veterans, Vietnamese as well as Americans? What impact did the choice to evade or avoid service carry? Why did the United States withdraw from the war? What were the broader geo-political and the narrower human consequences of our involvement? Our withdrawal? How have Americans remembered the war, and what are the causes and implications of these narratives?

A course on the history of the war in Vietnam necessarily deals with issues that are controversial, issues that each of us will view through the lenses of our individual value systems and our particular personal histories. As a result, our considerations of these topics are likely to create some heated discussions. It will be important for each of us to approach these conversations with a willingness to listen to the ideas of others, and to investigate our own assumptions and values. Though these discussions may be difficult at times, subjects such as the United States role in the world, the consequences of war and the meaning of peace resonate with significant contemporary relevance. It is hoped that the exploration of the historical antecedents of our contemporary world will help us to develop a sense of our own place in the world and of our own views about important questions. It is assumed that members of the class will often disagree with one another. Consider these disagreements opportunities for each of us to develop a more conscious understanding of ourselves and our world.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Through this course you will have the opportunity to develop:

• a comprehensive knowledge of American involvement in Southeast Asia between 1945 and 1975 and the consequences of that involvement in the lives of people on all sides of the conflict

• an understanding of the roles played by culture and values in shaping the conflicts in Southeast Asia and in the United States
• skills in the craft of historical study, including research, careful and close reading, critical thinking and analysis, and presenting and defending your ideas in written and oral forms as well as digitally
• skills in working cooperatively with others on shared learning goals

REQUIRED READING: The readings for this course combine lively primary source accounts and documents with scholarly secondary sources. The following books are required reading during the course, and are available for purchase at the university’s bookstore. They are also available on reserve at Collins Library.

• Christian G. Appy, American Reckoning: The Vietnam War and Our National Identity
• Christian G. Appy, Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides

• Albert French, Patches of Fire
• Michael H. Hunt, A Vietnam War Reader: A Documentary History
• Mark Atwood Lawrence, The Vietnam War: A Concise International History
• Bao Ninh, The Sorrow of War
• Heather Marie Stur, Beyond Combat: Women and Gender in the Vietnam War Era
• Nick Turse, Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam
• There is also a xeroxed course packet that is required and available at the bookstore

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS:

For this course you will do quite a bit of writing, some of it designed to engage you with complex issues at the heart of debates about the war in Vietnam, and others aimed toward your creation of a significant piece of scholarship by the end of the semester.

Preparation Essays: Engaging the Issues (each roughly 3 pages in length)

During the first eight weeks of the semester you will be expected to complete four short essays in which you analyze closely the sources we are reading for class and use them to explore an important issue related to the history of the wars in Southeast Asia that we will be discussing in class. All of you will complete your first essay for class on Wednesday, January 27. After that, you are required to turn one in Weeks 3-4, Weeks 5-6, and Weeks 7-8. It will be up to you to decide which particular day and essay you write. You will note that there are “prep questions” listed for each class meeting. For these essays, you should answer any one of these questions, or develop your own. In these essays, seek to explore a single question with some depth, rather than trying to accomplish too much. They will be evaluated on their meaningful engagement with an issue of substance, the depth and sophistication of their arguments, their effective engagement and use of the appropriate evidence, and the quality of their presentation.

Discussion Essay #1: Remembering the War in Popular Culture

Popular films have played a powerful role in shaping Americans’ perceptions of the war in Vietnam. Your first short essay assignment asks you to explore how Americans have “remembered” the war in film by viewing and analyzing a popular film that focuses on the war in Vietnam in some way. You have two purposes in this paper. First, you need to analyze the film’s presentation of some aspect of the war. For instance, how were the South Vietnamese depicted? What did the film suggest about American motivations? How were the experiences of American soldiers portrayed? What imagery did the film use to present veterans? Obviously the focus of your analysis will vary depending on the film you select, and so you might give some thought to your particular areas of interest before selecting your film. Second, can you suggest a broader interpretation of the war offered by this particular representation? What, in other words, does this film suggest about how Americans remember the war in Vietnam? I will distribute a list of films and post some lists on our Moodle site, but recognize these are only a beginning. You are welcome to locate your own film to review. Just remember that it needs to be a popular film, rather than a documentary.

Due in class Wednesday, January 27

Research Project: Writing the History of the Wars in Vietnam

The largest writing responsibility for the semester will be a final research project on a topic of your own design. Such a project accomplishes several goals—allowing you to engage in substantial exploration of a subject of particular interest; expanding the intellectual territory our course can cover; providing additional insights for our explorations together; and giving you a chance to continue polishing your skills in the conceptualization, development, completion and presentation of a research project on an historical issue. To allow us to move toward the completion of the project together, you will complete three preliminary assignments that will be shared with the class and the instructor. Instructions for each of these are outlined briefly below.

Research Project Assignment #1Finding an Issue

This will be your first attempt to outline the focus of your research project. You should write roughly three paragraphs, and should work to accomplish the following: 1)Identify the broad issue or debate in which you are interested, and the focused research question you will explore. This needs to be properly narrowed. 2) Provide a brief overview of the kinds of sources you imagine being able to locate. List at least one primary and one secondary source that will help you get started. 3) Suggest the broader significance of such an investigation, suggesting one possible connection to an issue of importance for our study of the wars in Southeast Asia or of American history more generally.

Due in class on Monday, March 28

Research Project Assignment #2Annotated Bibliography

For your second preparatory assignment you are asked to develop an annotated bibliography. The bibliography should include: 1) A re-statement of your focused research question. 2) Sufficient (appropriate) primary sources to illustrate that you will be able to answer that question. 3) At least three secondary sources in order to demonstrate at least minimal familiarity with the scholarly literature related to your research. Recognize as you build the bibliography that one goal of this assignment is to demonstrate that you have sufficient appropriate sources to complete the project you have outlined.

Due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 15

Research Project Assignment #3 Research Presentation

To provide you with a forum for the presentation of your work and an opportunity to learn from the research of your classmates, three days near the end of the semester will be dedicated primarily to presentations of your projects. You will be assembled into presentation “panels,” and will be responsible for making an eight-minute presentation of your work, as well as offering a question to one of your classmates on their research. These presentations will give us an opportunity to synthesize some of our findings for the semester even as we continue to expand the reach of our explorations. Due in class on either April 25, 27 or May 2

Final Project: Paper, Prospectus or Course Unit (roughly 12 pages)

For the finished piece you will have the option of writing a traditional research paper, organizing a new course unit, or writing a prospectus for a History 400 thesis.

Due in my office by 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 11

Writing Assignments: Grading Standards

• A paper that receives agrade lower than “C” does not meet the standards of this course. Typically a “D” or “F” paper does not respond adequately to the assignment, is insufficiently developed, is marred by frequent errors, unclear writing, confusing organization, or some combination of these problems.
• A typical “C” paper has a good grasp of the material on which it is based and adequately responds to the assignment, reflecting a solid understanding, a strong thesis, and meaningful insights. Yet such a paper may provide a less-than-thorough defense of the student’s ideas, or may suffer from problems in presentation such as frequent errors, unclear writing, or confusing organization.
• A typical “B” paper is very good work that contains significant insights that demonstrate that the student has engaged in serious thinking and has developed an important and imaginative thesis as a result. A “B” paper also includes strong development of the main ideas of the paper, including substantial and well-explicated evidence. These papers are generally effective in their presentation as well.
• A typical “A” paper is exceptional. Not only does an “A” paper include all of the strengths of a “B” paper, but it also has an exceptionally perceptive and original central argument that is cogently argued and supported by a very impressively chosen and developed variety of specific examples drawn from a range of sources. An “A” paper also succeeds in suggesting the importance of its subject and of its findings.

CLASS PARTICIPATION:

Discussion is an important part of this course. While the course will include some brief lectures, it is in class discussions that we will have the opportunity to pursue together answers to the multitude of questions the readings will raise. Working together, we have the opportunity to learn from one another, to consider opinions different from our own, and to build on one another’s ideas. Keep in mind that attendance and contributions to discussions will make up an important part of your grade. The following suggestions will help to make our discussions as fruitful as possible:

Prepare for class: This includes not only reading all assignments before class, but thinking about them as well. It is often useful to write down a few thoughts and questions before class. This not only forces you to think critically about what you are reading, but will often make it easier for you to speak up during the discussion. Recognize that the prompts for the Discussion Essays can also serve as useful preparatory guides.

Attend class: Unless you are in class, the rest of us cannot benefit from your ideas, and you will miss the opportunity to benefit from the ideas of your classmates. Further, lectures offer you information and context to help you understand your readings, and should not be missed.

Participate in discussions: We can only know your ideas if you express them. Twenty minds are always going to be better than just one. For this reason, we will all benefit from this course to the degree to which each of you participates in our discussions. Each of you has a great deal to contribute to the class, and each of you should share that potential with the class.

Listen to your classmates: The best discussions are a cooperative effort to understand the issues and questions before us. Listen to one another, and build on the conversation. While we will often disagree with one another, you should always be sure to pay attention to the ongoing discussion, and to treat your classmates and their ideas with the respect they deserve. Recognize that you will do some of your best thinking when you discuss complex issues with people whose ideas are different from your own.

CLASS PARTICIPATION: GRADING STANDARDS

• A student who receives a grade lower than “C” is consistently unprepared, unwilling to participate, refuses to engage with others, often seems distracted from the discussion, or is too frequently absent.
• A student who receives a “C” for discussion typically attends every class and listens attentively, but rarely participates in discussion. Other “C” discussants would earn a higher grade, but are too frequently absent from class, or may not listen openly to the ideas and suggestions of others.
• A student who receives a “B” for his or her participation typically has completed all the reading assignments on time, and makes important contributions to our discussions. This student may tend to wait for others to raise interesting issues, rather than initiating discussion. Other “B” discussants are courteous and articulate but do not listen to other students, offering their ideas without reference to the direction of the discussion. Still others may have a great deal to contribute, but participate only sporadically, or may not regularly connect their contributions to particular texts or specific examples.
• A student who receives an “A” for his or her participation typically comes to every class with questions and ideas about the readings already in mind. He or she engages other students and the instructor in discussion of their ideas as well as his or her own. This student is under no obligation to change their point of view, yet listens to and respects the opinions of others. This student, in other words, takes part in an exchange of ideas, and does so on a regular basis. This student also makes use of specific texts and examples during the discussion.

CLASS PARTICIPATION: GROUP PROJECT