The Vietnam Wars (321-0-20)
Instructors
Michael J. Allen
847/467-3979
Harris Hall - Room 342
Meeting Info
University Hall 122: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM
Overview of class
The Vietnam Wars encapsulated key features of world history in the latter half of 20th-century: the end of European colonialism in the face of popular movements for national independence and social revolution; popular demands for freedom and equality in the face of state power; the rise and fall of the Cold War as a way of organizing those conflicts within states and between them; the realities of US empire and its persistent denial. American intervention in Vietnam was also the paradigmatic expression of US foreign policy and the men who made it between 1945-1975, which is why the failures of that policy transformed US politics. This course examines these historical developments through a close study of the Vietnam Wars in global perspective while also attending to developments inside the United States and in Vietnam. Lectures treat the war's political, diplomatic, and cultural dimensions along with military strategy and war-fighting, while readings consist of oral histories, official government records, fiction, film, and journalism supplemented by historical scholarship.
Learning Objectives
Appreciate the scale, complexity, variety, and duration of Vietnam's wars for independence; Identify the respective aims, means, and conditions that shaped the political, military, and diplomatic actions of the primary combatants; Critically assess the relationship between the Vietnam Wars, the Cold War, and US empire; Identify the American leaders and attitudes most responsible for US intervention in Vietnamese affairs; Assess the place of domestic and transnational social movements and international public opinion in the course and outcomes of the Vietnam Wars; Relate US war-making in Vietnam to US actions before and after it; Explain how the war changed Vietnamese and American society and politics; Become a better reader, writer, and interpreter of history.
Evaluation Method
Two interpretive essays (40%); short reading responses (25%); class participation (15%); final exam (20%)
Class Materials (Required)
TBA
Class Notes
History of Area(s) Concentration: Americas, Asia/Middle East
Class Attributes
Historical Studies Distro Area
Associated Classes
DIS - Kresge Centennial Hall 2-339: Fri 10:00AM - 10:50AM
DIS - University Hall 318: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM
DIS - University Hall 318: Fri 1:00PM - 1:50PM
DIS - Harris Hall L28: Fri 2:00PM - 2:50PM
DIS - Kresge Centennial Hall 2-325: Thurs 3:00PM - 3:50PM
DIS - Kresge Centennial Hall 2-325: Thurs 4:00PM - 4:50PM