HIST 399I ST: Vietnam War
This class explores the political, social, and cultural contexts of US military and political involvement in Vietnam from World War II until 1975. Topics covered in this course include how and why the US government chose to intervene in South Vietnam, Vietnamese perspectives on the Cold War and the US, major military events such as the Tet offensive, the impact of the war on civilians, and scholarly debates on whether or not the US could have won or avoided the war. The course will use films, documentary programs (particularly Ken Burns' 2017 series The Vietnam War), primary source readings, music, and excerpts of historical work for discussion and to analyze the war. Global.