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Dien Bien Phu to Paris: America’s Involvement in Vietnam, 1954-1975
Location: OC 2036 Required Texts: · Baritz, Loren. Backfire. Johns Hopkins. Baltimore, 1998. ISBN 0-8018-5953-0 · Hayslip, Le Ly. When Heaven and Earth Changed Places. Penguin. New York, 1990. ISBN 0-452-27168-1 · Herr, Michael. Dispatches. Vintage. New York, 1991. ISBN 0-679-73525 · Sheehan, Neil. A Bright Shining Lie. Vintage. New York, 1988. ISBN 0-394-48447-9 · O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. Broadway. New York, 1998. ISBN 0-7679-0289-0 Course Objectives: This course is a senior seminar that synthesizes politics, pop culture, literature, and social concerns through the examination of America’s involvement in the internal affairs of Vietnam, beginning with covert operations in 1954 and ending with the evacuation of American personnel from Saigon in 1975. The class will utilize literature, historical archives, documents, film, and music to objectively analyze the perspectives and continuing impact of the Vietnam War. Assignments: This course is reading intensive. To pass, you must keep up with the reading assignments and provide evidence of that through meaningful and intelligent classroom discussion. (I will occasionally ask for written responses.) Further, you will each give an in-class presentation over one of the assigned readings. Other assignments include an interview with either a Vietnam veteran (or a Vietnamese native who has since relocated in the United States in the wake of the war) and a final project, which may be either critical or creative (possibilities: power points, music mixes, multimedia presentations, posters, original art, research paper, film, photo essay, etc.) Amendment: As an alternative to the Vietnam vet interview, you may read and review a book written about the Vietnam War. (I have several from which you might choose, or you can select your own.)
Grading:
All assignments are due on their designated due dates. Assignments turned in late will be penalized. Attendance: Poor attendance will drag your grade down. You are allowed three unexcused absences without penalty. Each one thereafter will automatically result in the drop of one-half of a letter grade. . If it is inevitable that you miss class, try to get word to me beforehand if at all possible. You are responsible for all material covered in the classes you miss. Be on time too. Three tardies count as one absence. Disability Policy: If any member of the class has a disability, please notify me of desired accommodations by the end of the first week of the class or as soon as you have written documentation. I will work with you and the staff of the Disability Support Services to provide reasonable accommodations to ensure that you have a fair opportunity to perform and participate in class. Cellphones: Turn them off in class! A Few Final Thoughts: Don't even think about plagiarizing. You may fail the course if you get caught, and it can also result in disciplinary action from the university. (See USI policy on academic misconduct.) If you want to succeed in this class, the best advice I can give you is this: Suit up and show up. Be prepared. Meet your deadlines and follow your guidelines. Speak up in class once in a while so I won't go through an entire semester without ever associating your name with your face. Visit me in my office, phone, or email if you are having problems. Make use of USI's Online Writing Lab. Have a nice semester:-) Week 1: Aug. 22: Course introduction, policies, procedures,
etc. Aug. 29: The Quiet American Sept. 5: Labor Day (no class) Sept. 12: Documentary: LBJ Goes to War Sept. 19: Report #1: pp. 569-580 in A Bright
Shining Lie ; Film: We Were Soldiers
Oct. 3: Apocalypse Now Oct. 10: Fall Break Oct. 17: TBA Oct. 24: Report #7: Dispatches
Oct. 31: Short stories: "Salem" and
"The Man I Killed," The Things They Carried, pp. 124-130. Nov. 7: Documentary: Homefront USA Nov. 14: Film: Born on the Fourth of July Nov. 21: TBA Nov. 28: Student project presentations Dec. 5: Student presentations
Disclaimer: This document is not chiseled in stone. It is a flexible, dynamic document which will bend and change during the semester to meet class needs. Make it a point to check this site frequently to make note of changes, modifications, explanations, or clarifications.
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