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YESHIVA UNIVERSITY – YESHIVA COLLEGE HISTORY 2540 -- THE UNITED STATES AND VIETNAM Professor Ellen Schrecker Spring Semester, 2001 Syllabus Office Hours: Professor Ellen Schrecker Yeshiva, Furst 326, ext. 320, Thurs. 3-3:45 PM or by appointment. Home phone (212) 316-4072, e-mail: schreckr@ymail.yu.edu Course Description:
This course will look at the relationship between the United States and Vietnam from both the American and the Vietnamese perspective. Though it will focus mainly on the war during the 1960s and 1970s, it will also look at some of the broader political, as well as military, issues involved and will pay attention to the historical context within which that conflict evolved. Among the topics we will study will be: traditional Vietnamese society, the French conquest of Vietnam, Vietnamese nationalism and communism, the First Indochina War, American involvement in Vietnam, the escalation of the war, U.S. strategy and tactics, the anti-war movement, the experience of combat, Tet, Nixon, and Kissinger, victory and defeat, Cambodia, the legacy of Vietnam. Required Texts (available in the bookstore) Marvin Gettleman, Jane Franklin, Marilyn Young, and Bruce Franklin, Vietnam and America Marilyn Young, The Vietnam Wars Jonathan Schell, The Real War Jerry Lembcke, The Spitting Image Xeroxed selections will be distributed from time to time and additional readings may be added. Course Requirements It is important to attend class regularly, participate in the discussions, and keep up with the readings. Students who have more than three unexcused absences will have their final grades reduced by one-third of a grade (e.g. from a B to a B-.) There will be several quizzes, two short papers, a midterm, and a final. Students who receive a B+ or higher on the first paper and the first two quizzes have the option of replacing the second short paper and the midterm with a longer research paper. Grades will be apportioned in accordance with the following : quizzes 10% first paper 15% midterm 15% second paper 15% final exam 30% (optional research paper 30%) class participation 15% Vietnam 2. NOTICE ON PLAGIARISM: Plagiarism is the cardinal sin of academic life. It will not be tolerated in this class. It is expected that all the work you submit will be your own. Thanks to the internet, it has become easy for an instructor to detect plagiarism and students who hand in plagiarized papers will get an "F" on that assignment and may get an "F" in the course. In addition, students who plagiarize risk disciplinary action. Students may not get up and go out of the room during class. Any student who does so will not be allowed back in class. CLASS SCHEDULE Please complete the readings before the class to which they are assigned. 1. Jan. 23 Introduction: Traditional Vietnam Part I: THE STRUGGLE AGAINST THE FRENCH 2. Jan. 25: The French Conquest and the Vietnamese Response Reading: Vietnam and America, 3-28 (hereafter V and A)
3. Jan. 30: Vietnamese Nationalism and the Rise of Ho Chi Minh
4. Feb. 1: World War II and Independence Reading: Young, ch. 1 V and A, 31-48 5. Feb. 6: The War Against the French Reading: Young, ch. 2 V and A, 49-62 Quiz # 1 Part II: THE UNITED STATES INTERVENES 6. Feb. 8: Geneva and After: The US Replaces France Reading: Young, ch. 3
7. Feb. 13: The Viet Cong: Insurgency and Counterinsurgency Reading: Young, ch. 4
8. Feb. 15: The Fall of Diem Reading: Young, ch. 5
Vietnam 3. 9. Feb. 20: After Diem and Toward Escalation Reading: Young, ch. 6 V and A, 239-55 First Paper due 10. Feb. 22: America Escalates Reading: Young, ch. 7-8 V and A, 279-91 Part III: THE UNITED STATES AT WAR 11. Feb. 27: American Strategy Reading: Young, ch. 9 12. Mar. 1: The American Military Reading: Schell, 59-188
13. Mar. 6: The Experience of Combat Reading: Schell, 191-269 Note: No class March 8 14. Mar. 13: The Experience of Combat Reading: V and A, 410-424
15. Mar. 15: Guest Lecturer 16. Mar. 20: Midterm 17. Mar. 22: North Vietnam at War 18. Mar. 27: South Vietnam at War Reading: V and A, 463-70 19. Mar. 29: Opposition to the War Reading: Young, ch. 10
20. Apr. 3: Tet (Note: class follows a Thursday schedule.) Reading: Young, ch. 11 V and A, 339-59, 378-410 Quiz # 2 Vietnam 4. IV. WINDING DOWN: NIXON’S WAR AND PEACE Pesach Recess 21. Apr. 17: The US Military After Tet Reading: Lembcke, ch. 3 V and A, 321-35 22. Apr. 19: Nixon’s War Reading: Young, ch. 12 V and A, 427-455 23. Apr. 24: Nixon’s Peace Reading: Young, ch. 13 V and A, 471-95 Note: No class April 26 24. May 1: The Last Campaign (Note: class follows a Thursday schedule.) Reading: Young, ch. 14 V and A, 495-500 25: May 3: The Aftermath in Southeast Asia Reading: Lembcke, ch 1-2, 4 xerox, to be handed out 26. May 8: The Aftermath in the US Reading: Lembcke, ch. 5-end V and A, 500-522 Second Paper due. Reading Period Sunday, May 20, 1-3:15 pm – Final Exam |
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