The Vietnam War

This one-week, five session course will examine American involvement in Vietnam.  We will look at what led up to American involvement in Vietnam, the Vietnam War itself, and then the results of the War. While the course will look at these events primarily from an American perspective, we will also examine the Vietnamese experience (both North and South), French involvement prior to the US, as well as US allies and world reaction to the war.  It is useful for learners to have at least a basic understanding of Southeast Asia geography (the should be able to find Vietnam on a map and know some of the surrounding countries) and have at least a very rudimentary knowledge of military or war issues.

The five sessions will examine:
1.  French colonialism and Indochina, the impact of WW2 and Vietnamese insurgency, Dien Bien Phu, how WW2, the Korean War, and Cuba shaped US decision-making, the Domino Theory, and the division of Vietnam.

2.  US military involvement in South Vietnam, the role of military advisors, the initial governments in the North and South, the first US casualties, JFK and Vietnam, and the Tonkin Resolution.

3.  Escalation--expansion US ground forces, NVA vs. Viet Cong, Special Forces, Ia Drang, the Air War in Vietnam, Tet Offensive, how the war varied by time frame and region.

4.  De-escalation, Vietnamization and ARVN, the Paris Peace Talks, Laos and Cambodia, POWs, Agent Orange, the Phoenix Program, anti-war demonstrations in the US, world reaction to the war.

5.  The fall of South Vietnam, war crimes, Kampuchea, Vietnam as a nation, US-Vietnam relations, journalism and the war, military and foreign policy consequences of the Vietnam War.

My courses are very visual--I provide lots of pictures and maps and graphics.  I pose questions to students, give everyone an assignment due at the end of class (usually to research someone involved in the war and then report back on what they found), and encourage students to make comments.  Learner interaction will be continual throughout the class.