WELLESLEY COLLEGE
POL3 306S, Spring 2006
Seminar: The Vietnam War
Prof. William A. Joseph
COURSE SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
The 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 on reserve in Knapp.
Part I: Frameworks and Facts
January 30: Introduction to the Course: Why Study the Vietnam War?
February 6: Revolution & War: A Framework for Analysis
In-class video: "Battle of Algiers" (excerpts)
- Isaac Kramnick, "Reflections on Revolution," in History and Theory, XI.1 (1972), pp. 26-35 ONLY. (JSTOR)
- 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)
- Fred Halliday, "War and Revolution," in Mark N. Katz, ed., Revolution: International Dimensions, pp. 63-74. (ER)
- Neil MacFarlane, "National Liberation Movement"; 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, 2nd edition.(ER)
- Jeet Heer, "Counterpunch," Boston Globe, January 4, 200.
- Claus von Clausewitz, On War, Book I, Chapter 1. (ER)
- 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.
- Recommended reading: Chris Hedges, "Introduction," in War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning. NOTE: Be sure to read the poem by Wilfred Owen that is next to the title page. (ER)
- Recommended video: "Burn" (113 min)
- This film is not about Vietnam, but meant by Italian filmmaker Gillio Pontecorvo (who also directed "The Battle of Algiers) to be a (1969) parable of the war. As described in the library annotation: "This story of political greed and social upheaval will take you on a journey deep into the heart of darkness of a 19th century Caribbean island, where men rise up in bitter and bloody rebellion against the wealthy nations seeking to enslave them." Particularly interesting for its portrayal of insurgency and counterinsurgency techniques, many of which seem familiar from the Vietnam War--despite the obvious differences in technology and ideology. Starring Marlon Brando
February 13: 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:
- Olson and Roberts, ch. 1.
- Robert McMahon, Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War, ch. 2, Essays & Documents.
- James Trullinger, Village at War, chs. 1-3.
- 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 (hereafter VTH), Episode 1: "The Roots of War" (60mins.)
February 20: No Class, Presidents' Day
February 27: The French War, 1945-54
- Olson and Roberts, ch. 2.
- McMahon, ch. 3, Essays & Documents; and ch. 4. Documents 1-4; ch. 9, Document 1.
- US Response to the Geneva Accords(OL)
- Trullinger, chs. 4-5.
- Graham Greene, The Quiet American, all.
- Recommended video:"The Quiet American" (101 mins.); "La 317ème section" (The 317th platoon) (94 mins.); VTH: 2: "The First Vietnam War, 1946-1954." (60 mins.)
March 6: The American War (I), 1954-63: Entering the Tunnel, or Another New Frontier?
- Olson and Roberts, chs. 3-4.
- Trullinger, chs. 6-7.
- McMahon, ch. 4, Essays & Documents 5-8; ch. 5, Essays & Documents; ch. 9, Documents 2-3, Essay by Duiker.
- Recommended video: VTH: 3: "America's Mandarin, 1954-1963." (60 mins.)
March 13: The American War (II), 1964-68: Light at the End of the Tunnel? or All the Way with LBJ!
In-class video: "Why Vietnam?"
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Olson and Roberts, ch. 5-7.
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Trullinger, ch. 8.
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McMahon,chs. 6-7, Essays & Documents.
- Recommended video: VTH: 4: "LBJ Goes To War, 1964-1965"; VTH: 5: "America Takes Charge, 1965-1967" (60 mins. each).
March 20: No Class, Spring Break
March 27: The American War (III), 1968-1975: Exiting the Tunnel, or The Secret Plan for "Peace"
- Olson and Roberts, chs. 8-10.
- Trullinger, chs. 9-Epilogue.
- McMahon, chs. 10, 12 & 14, Essays & Documents.
- Required video: "Hearts and Minds" [Class viewing to be arranged if possible].
- Recommended reading: George G. Church, "Saigon: The Final 10 Days," Time, April 25, 1995 (OL)
- Recommended video: "Return with Honor," (102 minutes). (R: DS559.4 .R47 1999; also available from the instructor)VTH: 10: "Peace Is At Hand, 1968-1973"; VTH: 12: "The End of the Tunnel, 1973-1975"; VTH: 7: "Tet, 1968"; VTH: 8: "Vietnamizing The War, 1969-1973." (60 mins. each).
PART II: ISSUES AND ANALYSIS
April 3: Insurgent Vietnam
In-class video: "Know Your Enemy: The Viet Cong"
- Bao Ninh, The Sorrow of War, all.
- Karen G. Turner, "Only Soldiers: Women and Men in War," in K. Turner, Even the Women Must Fight: Memories of War from North Vietnam. (ER)
- McMahon, ch. 9, Essays & Documents
- Another Vietnam: North Vietnamese Images Show Unseen Side of War (National Geographic) (OL)
- Recommended video: "Rising Above: The Women of Vietnam," (50 minutes); VTH 6: "America's Enemy" (60 mins.)
April 10: Americans & Allies at War
- Tim O'Brien, If I Die in a Combat Zone, all.
- McMahon, ch. 7, Essays; chs. 8 & 11, Essays & Documents.
- Murder in the Name of War-- My Lai, Parts 1-5-- BBC World Service. (OL)
- "Unarmed and Under Fire: An Oral History of Female Vietnam Vets," Salon, November 11, 1999 (OL)
- Charles K. Armstrong, "America's Korea, Korea's Vietnam," Critical Asian Studies, Volume 33, Number 4, December 01, 2001, pp. 527 - 540.
- Required video: "Four Hours in My Lai" [Class viewing to be arranged]
- Recommended reading: James P. Harrison, "History's Heaviest Bombing," in Werner and Huynh, The Vietnam War, pp. 132-139. (ER)
- Recommended video: "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 17: No Class, Patriot's Day
April 18 (T = M): 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)
- Sydney H. Schanberg, The Death and Life of Dith Pran, all.
- Cambodian Holocaust Digital Archive:
- Recommended video: "The Killing Fields" (142 mins.); VTH: 9: Cambodia and Laos" (60 mins.)
April 24: Beyond Vietnam: The Anti-War Movement and the Media in the U. S.
- McMahon, ch. 13, Essays & Documents.
- James Max Fendrich, " The Forgotten Movement: The Vietnam Antiwar Movement," in Sociological Inquiry, 73:3 (August 2003). (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)
- Randall P. Woods, ed., Vietnam and the American Political Tradition: The Politics of Dissent, read one of the chapters on Senators Gruening, McGovern, Church, Fulbright, Mansfield, Gore (Sr.), or Cooper (Ebrary)
- 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
- Recommended video: "The War at Home" (119 minutes); VTH: 11: "Homefront USA" (60 mins.); "America--Love it or Leave it!" (57 mins.)
May 1: Vietnam and US-Vietnam Relations After theWar
- Olson and Roberts, ch. 11.
- "America lost, capitalism won: Thirty years after Saigon fell, the south has prospered while the north has lagged," The Economist, Apr 28th 2005.
- "Changing gear: Decent reforms are enriching the Vietnamese; the future looks fine," The Economist, Nov 24th 2005.
- President Clinton's November 2000 visit to Vietnam:
- President Clinton's Speech at Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Nov. 17, 2000. (OL)
- James Carroll, "Clinton's Missed Opportunity in Vietnam," Boston Globe, Nov. 21, 2000. (OL)
- Jeff Jacoby, "Clinton Lets Down Vietnamese Once Again," Boston Globe, Nov. 30, 2000. (OL)
- Recommended reading: Arnold R. Isaacs, Vietnam Shadows, ch. 8, "Ghosts." (ER)
- Recommended video: "Vietnam: The Secret Agent" (on Agent Orange) (57 mins.); "Mai's America" (72 mins.); "Bastards" (98 mins.); "Pete Peterson: Assignment Hanoi" (60 mins.)
May 8: Lessons, Legacies, and Memories [IRAQ!!]
In-class video: "Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision" (excerpts)
- Olson and Roberts, chs. 12-13.
- 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)
- Melvin R. Laird, "Iraq: Learning the Lessons of Vietnam" in Foreign Affairs, November/December 2005.
- Shaun Kingsley Malarney, "'The Fatherland Remembers Your Sacrifice: Commemorating War Dead in North Vietnam," in Hue-Tam Tai Ho. ed., Country of Memory: Remaking the Past in Late Socialist Vietnam. (Ebrary)
- Required video: "The Fog of War" (Class viewing to be arranged if possible).
- Recommended video: "Precious Cargo: Vietnamese Adoptees Discover Their Past" (50 minutes); "Regret to Inform" (72 minutes); VTH: 13: "Legacies" (60 mins.); "Television's Vietnam" (a conservative critique of the PBS series) (116 mins.)
Course Overview
