HIS 316: THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN VIETNAM
UVIC, Summer 2006, J01
Meeting Times: M-F 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Meeting Place: Clearihue A303
Instructor: Dan Hinman-Smith
Office: Clearihue B228
Office Hours: Tues, Thurs: 3:00-4:00 p.m. (or by appointment)
Home Phone: 477-4058 (Do not hesitate to call with course-related questions).
Office Phone: 721-7000, Ext. 7395
Web-Site: http://www.misterdann.com/contentsvietnamwar.htm
E-Mail: dhinman@telus.net
TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE
Thursday, June 1: INTRODUCTION
Reading Assignment:
Friday, June 2
a) Video: "Dear America: Letters From Home" (84 minutes)
Reading Assignment:
Christian G. Appy,
Monday, June 5
a) Introduce Vietnam/Iraq Comparison Grid
b) Discussion: Reflections on the War
c) Lecture: Reflections on the Wall
Reading Assignment:
Richard Nixon, "The Myths of Vietnam," No More Vietnams (New York: Arbor House, 1985), pp. 9-23.
Browse carefully in ANNIVERSARY news articles.
Browse carefully in AGENT ORANGE LAWSUIT news articles.
Tuesday, June 6
a) Lecture: "Why Must We Take This Painful Road?" -- The Roots of American Involvement in Vietnam (206 BCE-1965)
[Includes Segment from "Vietnam: A Television History"]
Wednesday, June 7
a) Video: "Two Days In October" [1967] (80 minutes)
Thursday, June 8
a) Mini-Presentations: ICONIC PHOTOS OF THE VIETNAM WAR
b) Video: "Fog of War" (50 minutes)
c) Discussion: McNamara's War
Reading Assignment:
Browse carefully in MCNAMARA'S WAR
companion
web-site for Wednesday's documentary.
Friday, June 9
a) Video: "Remember My Lai"
b) Discussion: Achilles In Vietnam
Reading Assignment:
William Broyles, Jr.
Anne Simon Auger, From A Piece of My Heart, ed, Keith Walker.
Optional Extra Reading:
Browse carefully in WINTER SOLDIER INVESTIGATION (Testimony Given in Detroit, Jan, 31-Feb. 2, 1971 by Vietnam Veterans Against the War).
Browse carefully in
Monday, June 12
a) Discussion Sections: ****Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered From All Sides
b) Video: "Vietnam's Unseen War: Pictures From the Other Side"
Tuesday, June 13
a) Lecture: "Hey, Hey, LBJ": The War at Home
Reading Assignment:
Browse carefully in MCNAMARA'S WAR .
Martin Luther King, Jr., "Declaration of Independence From the War in Vietnam," Manhattan's Riverside Church, (April 1967).
Wednesday, June 14
a) Video: "Independent Lens: Weather Underground" (85 minutes)
Thursday, June 15
a) Discussion:
Weather Underground. For more information about the film, see the
companion web-site at
.
b) Discussion: Fonda's War
c) Discussion: Vietnam War/ Iraq War Comparison Grid
Reading Assignment:
Browse carefully in FONDA'S WAR.
Browse carefully in
Friday, June 16
a) Discussion:
The Vietnam War in Time Magazineb) Video: "Reporting America at War: Which Side Are You On?" (50 minutes)
c) Lecture: The Living Room War -- Journalism And The Vietnam War
Monday, June 19
a) Discussion Sections:
****Things They Carriedb) Video: "Ethics In America -- Under Orders, Under Fire, Part I"
Tuesday, June 20
a) Lecture: "Waist Deep In The Big Muddy": The United States and Vietnam (1965-1975)
b) Video: "Playing The Game -- Cambodia, The Bloodiest Domino" (55 minutes)
Wednesday, June 21
a) "Do We Get To Win This Time?": THE FILMS OF WAR
b) Discussion: Canada and the Vietnam War
Reading Assignment:
Optional Listening/Viewing Assignment:
"Canada's Secret War," CBC Archives.
"Seeking Sanctuary: Draft Dodgers," CBC Archives.
"The Helpful Fixer: Canada and The Vietnam War," As It Happens, CBC Radio (April 24-27, 2000).
Thursday, June 22
a) Discussion: John Kerry's War and The 2004 Presidential Election Campaign
b) Student Mini-Presentations: VIETNAM WAR INTERVIEWS or SUPPLEMENTARY AUDIO FILE
c) Course Evaluations
Reading Assignment:
Friday, June 23
FINAL EXAM
***Journal is Due Thursday, June 29.
BOOKS
Christian G. Appy, Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered From All Sides, (New York: Viking, 2003).
Tim O'Brien, Things They Carried (New York: Broadway, 1988).
EVALUATION
Letter of Introduction 1%
Journal 65%
Exam 20%
Class Participation 14%
a) Letter of Introduction (1%) (Full point awarded if assignment completed)
Who are you? Where are you from? What are your interests? Why are you taking this course? Do you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions as we start the course? Write two or three informal paragraphs for the second class of the semester to introduce yourself to me.
b) Journal (65%)
The student journal is the main assignment in this class. The purpose of the journal is to provide you the opportunity for frequent thoughtful, analytical, and personal commentary upon course—related material. The advantages of the journal, to my mind, are that it breaks work down into regular and manageable chunks, and that it enables you to seize hold of the curriculum in a way which reflects your own interests and style.
It will be due on Thursday, June 29. I will set up brief one-on-one meetings early in the semester to discuss the journal with anyone who would like to do this and will be happy to discuss your work on this assignment as it progresses.
In order to give you a basic structure and to clearly communicate my expectations, I will specify certain recommended entries and suggest a format for reading responses. However, while it is required that all work in the journal be your own original writing, you are encouraged to be imaginative in your own investigation and analysis of the Vietnam War.
The entries will, no doubt, vary in format, length and quality. Do not hesitate to take risks and to express your own opinions. It's fine if some entries read more like summary than analysis; it can be useful to put what you have learned from an article or a video into your own words. Other entries may make connections between the Vietnam War and issues that deeply concern you. Try, however, not to succumb to the temptation to write in an easy, stream—of—consciousness style. There is no inherent tension between analytical rigour and personal insight.
Include any printouts of particularly interesting internet material in an appendix to the journal. I will assume that everything in the body of the journal represents your own writing unless indicated otherwise.
The good journal will:
be at least 30 pages long.
include the required common entries as specified through oral and written instruction.
include other entries that draw upon class material and/or your independent research.
demonstrate that you are approaching the readings and the course with care and effort.
c) Final Exam (20%)
The Final Exam will ask you to write short essays analyzing paired historical terms. A detailed preparation sheet will be handed out in advance.
d) Class Participation (14%)
The class participation grade will be based upon attendance; pre-class preparation; and the willingness to contribute thoughtfully to discussion.
Students' willingness to put forth consistent effort and to share their ideas with others is as important in determining the success of a course as the instructor's performance. However, in any class, and particularly in a larger one, the assigning of a participation grade can become quite arbitrary. In this course, those students who stand out through consistent contribution to full-class and small-group discussion will be rewarded with a top participation grade. Although attendance is not required for History 316, I will take roll, and those who are not in class regularly will receive a poor grade for this component of the course. Those students who attend regularly (13+ classes) but who do not excel in discussion will not receive a designated class participation grade but will instead have their 86-point score converted into a percentage.
