Syllabus: POL3 227 The Vietnam War

WELLESLEY COLLEGE
Political Science (POL3) 227, The Vietnam War
Professor William A. Joseph
Fall 2006

Course Schedule & Reading Assignments

Thereadings are listed in the order in which it is recommended that theybe done. (ER) assignments available via Electronic Reserves in theFirstClass conference for this course. Highlighted assignments areon-line and can be accessed by clicking on the link on the on-linesyllabus or via the course FirstClass Conference.

PART I: FRAMEWORK & FACTS

Sept. 5 Introduction to the Course: Why Study the Vietnam War?

Sept. 8, 12 Revolution & War: A Framework for Analysis

Sept. 8:

Isaac Kramnick, "Reflections on Revolution," in History and Theory, XI.1 (1972), pp. 26-35 ONLY. (Try to print only these pages unless you plan to read the whole article.)

James DeFronzo, Revolutions and Revolutionary Movements, pp. 7-25. (ER)

The following entries in The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World, 2nd ed., Joel Krieger, William A. Joseph, et. al., eds.

Sept. 12:

Claus von Clausewitz, On War (1832), Book I, Chapter 1. For some background on Clausewitz, see: http://www.clausewitz.com/.

Fred Halliday, "War and Revolution," in Mark N. Katz, ed., Revolution: International Dimensions, pp. 63-74 (ER)

Jeet Heer, "Counterpunch," Boston Globe, January 4, 2004

Michael Kaufman, "What Does the Pentagon See in 'Battle of Algiers' ?", The New York Times, Sept. 7, 2003. Please read in preparation for in-class video)

Sept. 15 Vietnam: Language, Geography, Culture

"Language," in Vietnam: A Lonely Planet Survival Kit, pp. 58-66. (ER). Listen to some spoken Vietnamese: Click on any of the "Whole Dialogue" link

Neil L. Jamieson, "How the Vietnamese See the World," ch. 1, in Understanding Vietnam (Berkeley: University of California Press). Link

Explore maps of Vietnam at one of the following sites in order to get a sense of the lay of the land:

Google Earth (requires program download)

Sept. 19 Colonialism & Resistance

James Olson and Randy Roberts, Where the Domino Fell, Prologue and ch. 1.

James Trullinger, Village at War, chs. 1-3.

Marilyn Young, et. al., The Vietnam War: A History in Documents, pp. 11-24.

Required video: Indochine (158 mins.) (Knapp Reserve: PN1997 .I4839 1993/1999; VHS or DVD; also available from the instructor)

Sept. 22, 26 The French War, 1945-54

Olson and Roberts, ch. 2.

Young, et. al., ch. 1.

Trullinger, chs. 4-5.

Graham Greene, The Quiet American, all.

(Oct. 10 NO CLASS, FALL BREAK)

OCT. 17, 20 The American War (I), 1954-63: Entering the Tunnel, or This way to the New Frontier?

Olson and Roberts, chs. 3-4.

Trullinger, chs. 6-7.

James K. Galbraith, "Exit Strategy," Boston Review, October/November 2003,

Young, et. al., ch. 2.

(Oct. 24 NO CLASS, TANNER CONFERENCE)

OCT. 27, 31: The American War (II), 1964-68: Light at the End of the Tunnel? or All the Way with LBJ!

In-class videos: "Why Vietnam?" & "The Fog of War" (excerpts)

Olson and Roberts, ch. 5-8

Trullinger, ch. 8-9.

Young, et. al., ch. 3

William Hammond, "Tet and the Media" (ER)

[REVISED DATES FOLLOWING]

NOV. 14, 17 The American War (III), 1968-1975: Exiting the Tunnel, or The Secret Plan for "Peace"

Olson and Roberts, chs. 9-10.
Trullinger, chs. 10-Epilogue.
Young, et. al., ch. 7
George G. Church, "Saigon: The Final 10 Days," Time, April 25, 1995.

NOV. 21 PRE-THANKSGIVING SPECIAL!! CLASS VIEWING OF "HEARTS & MINDS"

NOTE: The film is 112 minutes. My plan is to start it -- after a very brief introduction -- by 11:15. There is a convenient breaking point about an hour into the film, so we will take an intermission at about 12:20. For those who can stay (and I hope that's most of you!), I will provide a pizza+ lunch. I'll aim to have the pizza delivery timed with the intermission. We'll resume the film as close to 12:30 as possible, which will let us end by 1:20. That's cutting it a bit close, but...
I will have a sign up (for lunch) sheet in class on Friday, Nov. 17.

NOV. 28 POST-THANKSGIVING SPECIAL!! Guest Speaker: James Maddox, Viet Nam Vet (father of Alex Maddox '10)

In preparation for Mr. Maddox's visit:
- Read at least one chapter from: Bloods, an oral history of the Vietnam War by Black veterans, edited by Wallace Terry. Several copies on reserveDS559.5 .B56 1984. THE CHAPTERS IN THIS BOOK ARE VERY SHORT. PLEASE READ ONE BEFORE CLASS!
- Take a substantive look at following web sites:
  - "African-American Involvement in the Vietnam War," at http://www.aavw.org/
  - "Vietnam Veterans of America," at http://www.vva.org

DEC. 1 Vietnam: The Face of Battle

Young, et. al., chs. 4-5.
Tim O'Brien, If I Die in a Combat Zone, all.
Murder in the Name of War-- My Lai, Parts 1-5, BBC World Service.
"Unarmed and Under Fire: An Oral History of Female Vietnam Vets, Salon, November 11, 1999
Another Vietnam: North Vietnamese Images Show Unseen Side of War (National Geographic) (OL)
"Portrait of A Viet Cong," Vietnam Magazine, December 2006.(ER)
Required video: Four Hours in My Lai [Class viewing to be arranged IF POSSIBLE]

DEC. 5 Beyond Vietnam: The Wars in Laos and Cambodia

Arnold R. Isaacs, "Laos: The Kingdom of Lane-xang," in A. Isaacs, Without Honor: Defeat in Vietnam and Cambodia. (ER)
Samantha Powers, "Cambodia: 'Helpless Giant,'" in S. Powers, "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. (ER)
Cambodian Holocaust Digital Archive: Photos and ess ay; and read one or two "Survivor's Stories"
SUGGESTED VIDEO: "THE KILLING FIELDS"

DEC. 8 Beyond Vietnam: The Anti-War Movement and the Media in the U. S.

Young, et. al., ch. 4, 6
James Max Fendrich, " The Forgotten Movement: The Vietnam Antiwar Movement," in Sociological Inquiry, 73:3 (August 2003). (ER)
Robert Elegant, "How to Lose a War." LINK
Daniel C. Hallin, "The Media, the War in Vietnam, and Political Support: A Critique of the Thesis of an Oppositional Media, "The Journal of Politics, Vol. 46, No. 1, Feb., 1984 pp. 2-24. LINK

DEC. 12 Lessons, Legacies, and Memories

Olson and Roberts, ch. 11-13
Young, et. al., ch. 8
Michael Lind, Vietnam: The Necessary War (excerpts) (ER)
Melvin R. Laird, "Iraq: Learning the Lessons of Vietnam" in Foreign Affairs, November/December 2005
The Economist, Apr. 28, 2005, "America lost, capitalis m won: Thirty years after Saigon fell, the south has prospered while the north has lagged"
The Economist, Nov. 24, 2005, "Changing gear: D ecent reforms are enriching the Vietnamese; the future looks fine"