WELLESLEY COLLEGE
Political Science 306S
Seminar: Revolution and War in Vietnam
Prof. William A. Joseph
Spring 2003
COURSE SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTSThe readings are listed in the order in which it is recommended that they be done. (ER) assignments available via Electronic Reserves in the FirstClass conference for this course. (OL) assignments are on-line and can be accessed by clicking on the link on the on-line syllabus or via the course FirstClass Conference. (H) assignments will be handed out in class. (R) means the reading is on reserve in Knapp.
Part I: Frameworks and Facts
Jan. 28: Introduction to the Course
Feb. 4: Revolution & War: A Framework for Analysis
In-class video: "Battle of Algiers" (excerpts)
Isaac Kramnick, "Reflections on Revolution," History and Theory, IX.2 (1972), pp. 26-35 (ER)
James DeFronzo, Revolutions and Revolutionary Movements, pp. 7-25. (ER)
Theda Skocpol (with Jeff Goodwin), "Explaining Revolutions in the Contemporary Third World, in Theda Skocpol, Social Revolutions in the Modern World, pp. 259-278. (ER)
Neil MacFarlane, "National Liberation Movements," D. Michael Shafer, "Counterinsurgency," and Brian Loveman, "Guerrilla Warfare," in Joel Krieger, William A. Joseph, et. al., eds., The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World. (ER)
Claus von Clausewitz, On War, Book I, Chapter 1. (OL)
Fred Halliday, "War and Revolution," in Mark N. Katz, ed., Revolution: International Dimensions, pp. 63-74. (ER)
Vietnam War Internet Links -- Browse this webpage & come to class prepared to share one or two links that you found particularly interesting.
Recommended video: "Burn" (113 mins.)
Feb.11: Vietnam: Culture, Colonialism, and Resistance
"Language," in Vietnam: A Lonely Planet Survival Kit, pp. 58-66. (ER)
William J. Duiker, "The Land and the People," in William J. Duiker, Vietnam: Revolution in Transition, pp. 1-14. (ER)
Take a Virtual
Tour of Vietnam at one of the following web sites:
Robert McMahon, Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War, ch. 2, Essays & Documents.
James Trullinger, Village at War, chs. 1, 2.
Tran Tu Binh, The Red Earth, all.
Required video: "Indochine" (158 mins.) (R: PN1997 .I4839 1993/1999; VHS or DVD; also available from the instructor)
Recommended Reading: Sarah Womack, "The Uncertain Weapon: Collaboration and Revolution in the Garde Indigene of Indochina," Wellesley College Senior Honors Thesis in International Relations (1996), especially chs. 1-3. (Copy available from instructor or in the College Archives in Clapp Library)
Recommended video: Vietnam: A Television History, Episode 1: "The Roots of War" (60 mins.).
Feb. 25: The French War, 1945-54
Marilyn Young, The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990, chs. 1-3 (to p. 46).
McMahon, ch. 3, Essays & Documents; and Ch. 4. Documents 1-4.
US Response to the Geneva Accords (OL)
Trullinger, chs. 3-5.
Graham Greene, The Quiet American, all.
Bernard Fall, Street Without Joy, chs. 4, 6. (ER)
Recommended video: Vietnam: A Television History, Episode 2: "The First Vietnam War, 1946-1954." (60 mins.)
March 4: The American War (I), 1954-63: Entering the Tunnel or The New Frontier?
Young, chs. 3 (from p. 46), 4-6.
Trullinger, chs. 6-7.
McMahon, ch. 4, Essays & Documents 5-8; ch. 5, Essays & Documents.
Recommended video: Vietnam: A Television History, Episode 3: "America's Mandarin, 1954-1963." (60 mins.)
March 11: The American War (II), 1964-68: Light at the End of the Tunnel? or All the Way with LBJ!
In-class video: "Why Vietnam?"
Young, chs. 7-11.
Trullinger, chs. 8-11.
McMahon,ch. 6 & 10, Essays & Documents; ch. 7, Documents 1-6.
Recommended videos: Vietnam: A Television History, Episode 4: "LBJ Goes To War, 1964-1965"; Episode 5: "America Takes Charge, 1965-1967"; " Episode 7: "Tet, 1968"; Episode 8: "Vietnamizing The War, 1969-1973."
March 25: The American War (III), 1969-1975: Exiting the Tunnel or The Secret Plan for "Peace"
In-class video: "Hearts and Minds" (time permitting)
Young, chs. 12-14.
Trullinger, chs. 12-Epilogue.
McMahon, chs. 12 & 14, Essays & Documents.
George G. Church, "Saigon: The Final 10 Days," Time, April 25, 1995 (OL)
Recommended videos: Vietnam: A Television History, Episode 10: "Peace Is At Hand, 1968-1973"; Episode 12: "The End of the Tunnel, 1973-1975" (60 mins. each).
Part II : Issues and Analysis
April 1: Insurgent Vietnam
In-class video: Vietnam: A Television History, Episode 6: "America's Enemy"
McMahon, ch. 9, Essays & Documents
Guenter Lewy, American in Vietnam, ch. 8, pp. 271-279. (ER)
Viet-Cong Repression: Control and Polarization of the Population (OL)
Bao Ninh, The Sorrow of War, all.
Nguyen Thi Dinh, No Other Road To Take: The Memoir Of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Dinh, all. (R--or available for purchase from the instructor)
Another Vietnam: North Vietnamese Images Show Unseen Side of War (National Geographic) (OL)
Recommended video: "Rising Above: The Women of Vietnam," which includes a profile of Nguyen Thi Dinh. (50 minutes)
April 8: Americans & Allies at War
In-class video: "Four Hours in My Lai"
McMahon, ch. 7, Essays; chs. 8 & 11, Essays & Documents.
James P. Harrison, "History's Heaviest Bombing," in Werner and Huynh, The Vietnam War, pp. 132-139. (ER)
Murder in the Name of War-- My Lai, Parts 1-5-- BBC World Service.
Guenter Lewy, America in Vietnam, ch 9. (ER)
"Unarmed and Under Fire: An Oral History of Female Vietnam Vets," Salon, November 11, 1999 (OL)
Tim O'Brien, If I Die in a Combat Zone, all.
Recommended videos: "No Time For Tears. Vietnam: the Women who Served" (59 minutes); : "The Anderson Platoon" (64 mins.); "Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam" (84 mins.)
April 15: Beyond Vietnam: The Wars in Laos and Cambodia
Arnold R. Isaacs, "The Pawns," Part II, in Arnold R. Isaacs, Without Honor: Defeat in Vietnam and Cambodia. (R--and available for purchase from instructor)
Sydney H. Schanberg, The Death and Life of Dith Pran, all. (R--and available for purchase from instructor)
Cambodian Holocaust Digital Archive
Recommended videos: Vietnam: A Television History, Episode 9: Cambodia and Laos" (60 mins.); "The Killing Fields" (142 mins.)
April 22: Beyond Vietnam: The Anti-War Movement and the Media in the U. S.
In-class video: "America--Love it or Leave it!" (time permitting)
McMahon, ch. 13, Essays & Documents.
Paul Joseph, Cracks in the Empire: State Politics in the Vietnam War, ch. 5. (ER)
David Harris, Our War: What We Did in Vietnam and What It Did to Us, chs. 1-4. (ER)
Paul Hollander, "Alienation and Judgments About the United States and its Adversaries," in John Norton Moore, ed., The Vietnam Debate: A Fresh Look at the Arguments, pp. 289-298. (ER)
Robert Elegant, "How to Lose a War"; and Daniel C. Hallin, "A Critique of the Oppositional Media Thesis" (ER)
Recommended videos: "The War at Home" (119 minutes); Vietnam: A Television History, Episode 11: "Homefront USA" (60 mins.)
April 29: Vietnam After the War
Young, ch. 15.
Arnold R. Isaacs, Vietnam Shadows, ch. 8, "Ghosts." (ER)
Andrew Pierre, "Vietnam's Contradictions," in Foreign Affairs, November-December 2000, pp. 69-86. (ER)
Robert Dreyfuss, "Agent Orange: The Next Generation," in Mother Jones, January-February 2000. (OL)
Michael Paterniti, "The Laptop Colonialists" in The New York Times Magazine, January 12, 1997. (H)
Recommended
videos: "Vietnam: The Secret Agent" (on Agent Orange) (57 mins.)
May 6: Lessons, Legacies, and Memories
In-class video: "Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision" (excerpts)
Take a Virtual Tour of the Vietnam War Memorial (thevirutalwall.org) (OL)
McMahon, ch. 1, Essays; ch. 15, Essays & Documents.
Tim O'Brien, "The Vietnam In Me," from New York Times Magazine, October 23, 1994 (OL)
Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr. and Elmo Zumwalt III, "Agent Orange and the Anguish of an American Family," in The New York Times Magazine, August 24, 1986 " and the Obituary for Elmo Zumwalt III, The New York Times, August 14, 1988. (OL)
Robert S. McNamara, "We Were Wrong, Terribly Wrong," Newsweek, April 17, 1995. (ER)
Martha Kendall Winnacker, "War Crimes and Heroism in Vietnamese Commemorations of the U. S. War," in Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, 27:2 (1995), pp. 67-73. (ER)
President Clinton's November 2000 visit to Vietnam:
Vietnam & Afghanistan
Recommended videos: "Precious Cargo: Vietnamese Adoptees Discover Their Past" (50 minutes); "Regret to Inform" (72 minutes); "Return with Honor," (102 minutes); "Pete Peterson: Assignment Hanoi"; Vietnam: A Television History, Episode 13: "Legacies" (60 mins.); "Television's Vietnam" (a conservative critique of the PBS series) (116 mins.)
