POL3 227 Vietnam War

Wellesley College Political Science (POL3) 227 The VietnamWar Fall 2008 Professor William A. Joseph Course Schedule & 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. Highlighted assignments are on-line and can be accessed by clicking on thelink on the on-line syllabus or via the course FirstClass Conference
PART I: FRAMEWORK & FACTS Sept. 2 Introduction to the Course: Why Study the Vietnam War? Sept 5, 9 Revolution & War: A Framework for Analysis 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. Neil MacFarlane, "National Liberation Movement Brian Loveman, "Guerrilla Warfare D. Michael Shafer, "Counterinsurgency Jeet Heer, "Counterpunch," Boston Globe, January 4, 2004. Claus von Clausewitz, On War (1832), Book I, Chapter 1. For some background on von Clausewitz, see: http://www.clausewitz.com/ Fred Halliday, "War and Revolution," in Mark N. Katz, ed., Revolution: International Dimensions, pp. 63-74 (ER) Michael Kaufman, "What Does the Pentagon See in 'Battle of Algiers' ?", The New York Times, Sept. 7, 2003. View scenes from "The Battle of Algiers" (about 30 minutes), available at: http://www.wellesley.edu/Polisci/wj/227/battlealgier-227/battlealgiers.htm Entire film is available in DVD at Clapp (DT295 .B37 2004) or from the instructor. Sept. 12 Vietnam: Language, Geography, Culture "Language," in Vietnam: A Lonely Planet Survival Kit, pp. 58-66. (ER). Listen to some spoken Vietnamese (Northern Illinois University): Click on any of the "Whole Dialogue" links Neil L. Jamieson, "How the Vietnamese See the World," ch. 1, in Understanding Vietnam (Berkeley: University of California Press). (ER) Explore maps of Vietnam at one of the following sites in order to get a sense of the lay of the land: University of Texas Map Collection National Geographic Map Machine Google Earth (download) Sept. 16, 19 Colonialism and 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.) (PN1997 .I4839 1993/1999; VHS or DVD; also available from the instructor) Sept. 23, 26 The French War, 1945-54 Olson and Roberts, ch. 2. Trullinger, chs. 4-5. Graham Greene, The Quiet American, all. (See also "Annotations" in Course Conference.) Young, et. al., ch. 1. SEPT. 30: NO CLASS, ROSH HASHANAH Oct. 3, 7 The American War I Entering the Tunnel, or Another New Frontier? Olson and Roberts, chs. 3-4. Young, et. al., ch. 2. Trullinger, chs. 6-7. NO CLASS: OCT 14, FALL BREAK Oct. 10, 17, 21 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 NO CLASS: OCT. 28, TANNER CONFERENCE Oct. 24, 31, Nov. 4 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. Required video: "Hearts and Minds" [Class viewing to be arranged if possible. Otherwise, film is available for on-campus viewing via Video E-Reserve in the course conference. It is available also in DVD at Clapp and from the instructor; and in segments on a YouTube Playlist (click link)] PART II: ISSUES AND ANALYSIS Nov. 7, 11 Vietnam: The Face of Battle Americans at WarYoung, ch. 4, 5 Tim O'Brien, If I Die in a Combat Zone, all. "Steve in Vietnam" "Unarmed and Under Fire: An Oral History of Female Vietnam Vets," Salon, November 11, 1999 The "Enemy" Jeffery Record, "Viet Cong: Image and Flesh," Transaction, Jan. 1971, pp. 47-52. (TBA) Another Vietnam: North Vietnamese Images Show Unseen Side of War (OL) Karen G. Turner, Even the Women Must Fight: Memories of War from North Vietnam. Excerpts The Ugliest Face of War Murder in the Name of War-- My Lai, Parts 1-5 (BBC World Service) Required video: "Four Hours in My Lai" [Class viewing to be arranged] Nov. 14, 18 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) Read & look carefully at one of the following: Cambodian Killing Fields, Cambodian Holocaust Digital Archive, look at the photos and read the essay by David Chandler and read one or two "Survivor's Stories" From Sideshow To Genocide: Stories of the Cambodian Holocaust by Andy Carvin Samantha Powers, "Cambodia: 'Helpless Giant,'" in S. Powers, "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. (ER) Nov. 21, 25 Beyond Vietnam: The Anti-War Movement and the Media in the U. S. Young, et. al., ch. 4, James Max Fendrich, " The Forgotten Movement: The Vietnam Antiwar Movement," in Sociological Inquiry, 73:3 (August 2003). (ER) 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. 2 Vietnam & US-Vietnam Relations After the War Olson and Roberts, ch. 11. "Halfway From Rags to Riches: A Special Report on Vietnam," The Economist, April 28, 2008. Dec. 5, 7 Lessons, Legacies, and Memories In-class video: "Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision" (excerpts) Olson and Roberts, chs. 12-13 Young, et. al., ch. 8 Michael Lind, Vietnam: The Necessary War (excerpts) (ER) Robert Mann, A Grand Delusion (excerpts) (ER)
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Wellesley College
Political Science (POL3) 227
The VietnamWar
Fall 2008
Professor William A. Joseph

Course Schedule & 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. Highlighted assignments are on-line and can be accessed by clicking on thelink on the on-line syllabus or via the course FirstClass Conference

PART I: FRAMEWORK & FACTS

Sept. 2 Introduction to the Course: Why Study the Vietnam War?

Sept 5, 9 Revolution & War: A Framework for Analysis

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.

Neil MacFarlane, "National Liberation Movement

Brian Loveman, "Guerrilla Warfare

D. Michael Shafer, "Counterinsurgency

Jeet Heer, "Counterpunch," Boston Globe, January 4, 2004.
Claus von Clausewitz, On War (1832), Book I, Chapter 1. For some background on von Clausewitz, see: http://www.clausewitz.com/

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

Michael Kaufman, "What Does the Pentagon See in 'Battle of Algiers' ?", The New York Times, Sept. 7, 2003.

View scenes from "The Battle of Algiers" (about 30 minutes), available at: http://www.wellesley.edu/Polisci/wj/227/battlealgier-227/battlealgiers.htm
Entire film is available in DVD at Clapp (DT295 .B37 2004) or from the instructor.

Sept. 12 Vietnam: Language, Geography, Culture

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

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

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

University of Texas Map Collection
National Geographic Map Machine

Google Earth (download)

Sept. 16, 19 Colonialism and 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.) (PN1997 .I4839 1993/1999; VHS or DVD; also available from the instructor)

Sept. 23, 26 The French War, 1945-54

Olson and Roberts, ch. 2.

Trullinger, chs. 4-5.

Graham Greene, The Quiet American, all. (See also "Annotations" in Course Conference.)

Young, et. al., ch. 1.

SEPT. 30: NO CLASS, ROSH HASHANAH

Oct. 3, 7 The American War I Entering the Tunnel, or Another New Frontier?

Olson and Roberts, chs. 3-4.

Young, et. al., ch. 2.

Trullinger, chs. 6-7.

NO CLASS: OCT 14, FALL BREAK

Oct. 10, 17, 21 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

NO CLASS: OCT. 28, TANNER CONFERENCE

Oct. 24, 31, Nov. 4 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.

Required video: "Hearts and Minds" [Class viewing to be arranged if possible. Otherwise, film is available for on-campus viewing via Video E-Reserve in the course conference. It is available also in DVD at Clapp and from the instructor; and in segments on a YouTube Playlist (click link)]

PART II: ISSUES AND ANALYSIS

Nov. 7, 11 Vietnam: The Face of Battle

Americans at WarYoung, ch. 4, 5

Tim O'Brien, If I Die in a Combat Zone, all.

"Steve in Vietnam"

"Unarmed and Under Fire: An Oral History of Female Vietnam Vets," Salon, November 11, 1999

The "Enemy"

Jeffery Record, "Viet Cong: Image and Flesh," Transaction, Jan. 1971, pp. 47-52. (TBA)

Another Vietnam: North Vietnamese Images Show Unseen Side of War (OL)

Karen G. Turner, Even the Women Must Fight: Memories of War from North Vietnam. Excerpts

The Ugliest Face of War

Murder in the Name of War-- My Lai, Parts 1-5 (BBC World Service)

Required video: "Four Hours in My Lai" [Class viewing to be arranged]

Nov. 14, 18 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)

Read & look carefully at one of the following:

Cambodian Killing Fields, Cambodian Holocaust Digital Archive, look at the photos and read the essay by David Chandler and read one or two "Survivor's Stories"

From Sideshow To Genocide: Stories of the Cambodian Holocaust by Andy Carvin

Samantha Powers, "Cambodia: 'Helpless Giant,'" in S. Powers, "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. (ER)

Nov. 21, 25 Beyond Vietnam: The Anti-War Movement and the Media in the U. S.

Young, et. al., ch. 4,

James Max Fendrich, " The Forgotten Movement: The Vietnam Antiwar Movement," in Sociological Inquiry, 73:3 (August 2003). (ER)

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. 2 Vietnam & US-Vietnam Relations After the War

Olson and Roberts, ch. 11.

"Halfway From Rags to Riches: A Special Report on Vietnam," The Economist, April 28, 2008.

Dec. 5, 7 Lessons, Legacies, and Memories

In-class video: "Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision" (excerpts)

Olson and Roberts, chs. 12-13

Young, et. al., ch. 8

Michael Lind, Vietnam: The Necessary War (excerpts) (ER)

Robert Mann, A Grand Delusion (excerpts) (ER)

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