READING SCHEDULE

WEEK'S TOPIC

READINGS AND DISCUSSION

INTRODUCTION

 

14- January: Course “nuts and bolts” and topical introduction

 

Short lecture by instructor
                

Monday 21 January

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Classes dismissed; offices closed.

VIET NAM DURING THE IMPERIAL PERIOD

28 January: Defining Characteristics of Vietnamese Society. Warfare in the Origins of Viet Nam’s Historical Narrative. Chinese Domination and Local Rebellion in Viet Nam. 

Reading:
      1. Tran, Nhung Tuyet, and Anthony Reid.   
      Viet Nam: Borderless Histories.
      Introduction and Chapters. 1-4.
      (individual chapter outlines by    
      student volunteers)
2. Taylor, The Birth of Vietnam, pp. 1-44 (on e-reserve; outlines required from all students)
3. Anderson, The Rebel Den of Nùng Trí Cao, Chapter 3, “Examples of Negotiated Autonomy” (on e-reserve; outlines required from all students)

4 February: Defining Characteristics of Vietnamese Society. Warfare in the Origins of Viet Nam’s Historical Narrative. Chinese Domination and Local Rebellion in Viet Nam. (cont.)

Readings:
      1. Tran, Nhung Tuyet, and Anthony Reid.  
      Viet Nam: Borderless Histories.
      Chapters. 5-10.
      (individual chapter outlines by   
      student volunteers)

      2. Whitmore, “Chiao-chih and Neo-
      Confucianism: The Ming Attempt to
      Transform Vietnam” (on e-reserve;
      Outlines required from all students).

      3. Wook, Choi Byung “Vietnamization of
      Southern Vietnam” (on e-reserve;
      Outlines required from all students).

VIETNAMESE SOCIETY UNDER THE FRENCH

  11 February: Vietnamese Society Under the French. Early Vietnamese Radicals.

Readings:
1. Hue-Tam Ho Tai, Radicalism and the       Origins of the Vietnamese Revolution, pp. 10-58 (on e-reserve; outlines required from all students).
2. David Marr, Vietnamese Tradition on Trial, 1920-45, pp. 288-326 (on e-reserve; outlines required from all students).
3. Film: Roots of War (VH1009)

18 February: The First Indochinese War

Readings:
1. Lawrence, Mark Atwood, and Fredrik Logevall. The First Vietnam War (individual chapter outlines by student volunteers).
2. McNamara, “Evolution of Washington's and Hanoi's Mindsets” (on e-reserve; outlines required from all students).
3. Young, Marilyn, The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990, Chapters 1-2 (background reading)
4. Film:First Vietnam War: 1946-54 (VH1010)

THE U.S. CONFLICT IN VIET NAM

No class meeting on February 25th

Day reserved for undergraduate student conferences regarding annotated bibliographies

3 March:  The Legacy of Ho Chi Minh

 

 

Reading: Duiker, Ho Chi Minh (individual chapter outlines by student volunteers).

MONDAY, MARCH 3rd  

UNDERGRADUATES' ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES DUE IN CLASS

 

SPRING BREAK (SATURDAY, MARCH 8TH - SUNDAY, MARCH 16TH)

 

WEEK'S TOPIC

READINGS AND DISCUSSION

THE U.S. CONFLICT IN VIET NAM

17 March: The RVN Government and the ARVN during Early US Involvement

 

Readings:
1. Catton, Philip, Diem's final failure (on e-reserve; outlines required from all students).
2. Anderson and Ernst. The War That Never End, chapters 2, 7, 6(individual chapter outlines by student volunteers).
3. Young, Marilyn, The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990, Chapters 3-5 (background reading)
4. Film: America's Mandarin: 1954-1963 (VH1011)

24 March: The PAVN, the NLF and Ha Noi’s early strategy in the Second Indochinese Conflict

 

Readings:

1. McNamara, “U.S. military victory in Vietnam: a dangerous illusion?”(Parts A&B) (On e-reserve; outlines required from all students).
2. Anderson and Ernst. The War That Never Ends, chapters 4, 5(Individual chapter outlines by student volunteers).
3. Young, Marilyn, The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990, Chapters 6-7 (background reading)
4. Film: With America's Enemy: 1954-67 (VH1014)

31 March: Escalation in US Involvement, Cold War Considerations. US Domestic Considerations.

 

Readings:

1. Anderson and Ernst. The War That Never Ends, chapters 3, 8-14(individual chapter outlines by student volunteers).
2. Young, Marilyn, The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990, Chapters 8-10 (background reading)
3. Film: America Takes Charge: 1965-67 (VH1013)

THE END OF U.S. INVOLVEMENT

7 April: The Tet Offensive

 

Readings:
1. Ngo Vinh Long “The Tet Offensive and Its Aftermath” in Marc Jason Gilbert and William Head, eds., The Tet Offensive. (On e-reserve; outlines required from all students).
2. Young, Marilyn, The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990, Chapter 11 (background reading)
3. Film: Tet: 1968 (VH1015)

14 April: The End of US Involvement in the Second Indochinese Conflict.

 

 

Reading:
1. Randolph, Stephen P. Powerful and Brutal Weapons: Nixon, Kissinger, and the Easter Offensive.
2. Young, Marilyn, The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990, Chapters 12-14 (background reading)
3. Film: Vietnamizing The War (VH1016)

THE LEGACY OF WAR

21 April: The Third Indochinese War. The Legacy of the Second Indochinese War in US Society.

Readings:
1. King C. Chen, China’s War With Vietnam, 1979, pp. 69-117 (on e-reserve; outlines required from all students).
2. Anderson, David L., and John Ernst. The War That Never Ends, Introduction, chapters 1, 15, 16 (individual chapter outlines by student volunteers).
3. Young, Marilyn, The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990, Chapter 14 (background reading)
4. Film: No Neutral Ground: Cambodia & Laos (VH1017)

28 April: 3:30-5:00pm

Class Presentations

28 April: 5:00-6:20pm

Undergraduate student conferences regarding historiographical essays

5 May:  

Class Presentations, Final Discussion

MONDAY, MAY 5th  

GRADUATE ESSAYS DUE

MONDAY, MAY 5th   

UNDERGRADUATE ESSAYS DUE