Course Overview
This course examines the history of American involvement in Vietnam, the experience of Americans (and, to some extent, Vietnamese) who fought the Second Indochina War (1954-1975), and the impact of the war on American society. It begins with a brief exploration of pre-colonial Vietnamese history and culture, French colonial dominance from the late nineteenth century through the 1930s, and the growing Vietnamese nationalist resistance that led to the First Indochina War (1945-1954). The majority of our time, however, will be spent on the diplomatic and political course of the American war in Vietnam as well as the domestic consequences it wrought in both the United States and Vietnam. (Although some of the major military battles and campaigns will come up, this course is not a traditional military history course; little attention will be given to battlefield commanders or military strategy.) Through the use of novels, memoirs, film, music, and primary source documents, we will seek an understanding of the Vietnam experience through the lives of those who experienced it. Finally, the course will end with a discussion of the legacy of the Vietnam War and its lingering presence in American life.
Required Readings
The following books are available for purchase at the Durham Book Exchange and one copy of each will be held on reserve in the Dimond Library:
James Carroll, An American Requiem: God, My Father, and the War That Divided Us
Marvin E. Gettleman, et al, Vietnam and America: A Documented History
Graham Greene, The Quiet American
Le Ly Hayslip, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman's Journey from War to Peace
Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried
Jonathan Shay, Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character
Terry Whitmore, Memphis-Nam-Sweden: The Story of a Black Deserter
Marilyn B. Young, The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990
This course is reading intensive and its success will depend largely on the active participation of everyone in the class. Most class meetings will involve some discussion. Please do the reading before you come to class each week. Sometimes, the discussion will center on a film or music, but in most cases, we will discuss the readings for the week. Therefore, it is very important that each of us take the responsibility for being prepared and for sustaining the discourse. This means that you must complete and think about the readings before you come to class. Please remember to bring the book(s) that we are discussing with you.
In addition, I have placed several other books on reserve in the library. Because visual images were so important to American understanding and interpretation of the war, I strongly urge you to look at some of the photographic histories of the war that I have placed on reserve:
- Horst Faas, Requiem: By the Photographers Who Died in Vietnam and Indochina
- Julene Fischer and Robert Stone, Images of War
- Felix Greene, Vietnam! Vietnam!
Assignments and Grades
Your final grade in this course will be calculated as follows:
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First paper
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20%
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Mid-semester exam
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20%
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| Oral history paper
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20%
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| Final exam
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20%
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| Class participation
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20%
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Exams
You will take two examinations covering material from lectures, readings, films, and discussions. The final exam will not be cumulative but will cover material presented since the mid-semester exam.
Papers
You will write two short papers. The first assignment will ask you to play historian and write an essay (5-7 pages, typed, double-spaced) based on the primary source documents presented in one of the sections of Vietnam and America: A Documented History, edited by Marvin Gettleman, et al. You may choose the section of documents upon which you will base your paper, though you are limited to Parts III through VIII. You will not be expected to cite every document from the selected section in your paper, but rather to write a cohesive essay based on several of the documents. I will distribute a more detailed description of the assignment later in the semester.
The second paper (8-10 pages, typed, double-spaced) will be based on an oral history interview that you will conduct with a family member or friend regarding their experience during the Vietnam War. The person you interview may be a veteran of the war, someone who was an antiwar activist, or anyone else who lived through the war era and has an opinion about it. These papers will not be mere transcriptions of your interview; rather, you will be expected to place the experience of your interview subject in context with current generalizations and perceptions of the Vietnam War era experience. Again, a more detailed description of the assignment is forthcoming.
Participation
Please note that one-fifth of your grade is based on your attendance and participation. I do keep track of attendance and of who takes part in discussions. Please keep up with the reading and come to class prepared to discuss it or with questions in mind. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out if any assignments or announcements were made.
Help and Assistance
I will do everything possible to be accessible. My office hours are listed at the top of this syllabus and I am available by appointment as well. Please contact me at home (before 9:00 p.m.) If you have any questions about any aspect of this course. If I am not there, leave a message on the machine, and I will respond as soon as possible. In addition, I try to check my e-mail every day: msfoley@hopper.unh.edu.
If you think you could use some assistance with your writing, check out the University Writing Center at Hamilton Smith Hall (862-3272). There you will find trained writing consultants who can help with all aspects of writing for a history course (though they are not an editing or proofreading service). The Center is an excellent resource; please take advantage of it.
Some Ground Rules
At the outset, we must acknowledge that the Vietnam War was controversial and remains so today. Many of you will come to this course with strongly-held beliefs about the war and its effect on American society. Some of you may have served in Vietnam or are related to veterans. You may have lost a loved one in Vietnam. Others may have participated in or are related to someone in the antiwar movement. Or you may simply feel conflicted about the war and its meaning today. That's fine. What is most important is that we respect the opinions and feelings of others in this class. There will be disagreements (as there are among historians) and this course is designed to probe those areas of disagreement for discussion. In the end, however, no matter how emotional we become, I hope we will seek to rely on concrete, historical evidence to support our claims. Try to keep an open mind.
