Honors 391: History and Literature of the Vietnam War

Books
--George C. Herring, America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975
--William J. Duiker, Sacred War: Nationalism and Revolution in a Divided Vietnam
--Robert J. McMahon, ed., Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War
--Graham Greene, The Quiet American
--Philip Caputo, A Rumor of War
--Michael Herr, Dispatches
--Le Ly Hayslip, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places
--Tim OâBrien, The Things They Carried
--Yusef Komunyakaa, Dien Cai Dau [selections]
--Bobbie Ann Mason, In Country

Course Description
This course will critically and intensively study the Vietnam War, 1945-1975 [causes, phases, and results], and various artistic responses to that conflict, both American and Vietnamese.

Topics will include background on Vietnamese history and culture; the impact of French imperialism in Vietnam and the Japanese occupation of Vietnam during World War II; Ho Chi Minh and the Declaration of Vietnamese Independence in1945; France's unsuccessful efforts to reconquer Vietnam, 1946-1954; the Cold War and US interests in Southeast Asia and Vietnam; growing US involvement in Vietnam under bipartisan leadership as well as growing domestic opposition to that involvement; the results of the US role in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

The course will also focus on key personalities, decisions, and events of the war as well as the military, diplomatic, political, social, and economic implications of those key factors. Cultural responses to this conflict, especially memoirs, novels, short stories, and poems, as well as films, will be examined both in the historical context of the war and in the literary and aesthetic context of mid-to-late twentieth century America

Coursework
Required work for the course includes careful reading of all assigned material and active participation in class discussions. Please come to class prepared with questions and comments about the assigned reading for each day--the success of the course depends on your involvement. In addition, several films will be shown outside of regular class hours. You will be required to attend at least two of these screenings. If you miss a class, you are still responsible for the material covered and for any changes in assignment or procedure announced in class. No make-up examinations or late papers will be accepted without a valid, verifiable excuse. Excessive absences will seriously affect your grade.

Grading will be based on six short position papers (20%), a longer analytic paper (20%), a mid-term exam (20%), a final exam (30%), and class participation (10%). Exams will cover lectures, readings and films utilized in the course. They will include both objective and essay questions. We will provide more information about the longer essay before it is due.

Position Papers
You will be required to write six very short papers (approximately 500 words each) which will respond to the literary works and films that we cover in class. For each piece of literature and each film (there will be 10 or 11 altogether), we will provide a discussion question which will be the topic for that position paper. You choose which six questions to answer and which to skip. At least two of the six papers must respond to films.

Plagiarism
All work submitted must be your own. You may discuss writing assignments and prepare for tests with your classmates (in fact, we strongly encourage you to do so), but all that you write should be yours. Incorporating others' words or ideas in your essays without proper acknowledgment, or any other form of academic dishonesty, will result in an "F" for the entire course.

Reading Schedule
This chart lists the readings you will be responsible for each week. We will announce in class what will be covered each day. Be sure to read the required material before class on the day it will be discussed.