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| Unit name |
The US in Vietnam |
| Unit code |
SPAIM0021 |
| Credit points |
20 |
| Level of study |
M/7
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
|
| Unit director |
Dr. Rowley |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department |
School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Description including Unit Aims
An understanding of the reasons for US military intervention in Vietnam, and the reasons for its lack of success in that region, is crucial to an understanding of the US’s role in world affairs today. This unit analyses US involvement in Indochina between 1945 and 1975. It examines the background to and justifications for US intervention, as well as the foreign, military and diplomatic policies that the US pursued. It also analyses the roles of the US media and of US domestic opinion during this period, and explores the impact of the conflict on US domestic society and its legacies for contemporary US foreign policy.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Upon completing the unit, students will:
- be able to apply knowledge and analysis about US foreign policy in and after Vietnam to the evaluation of current US foreign and military policy;
- have developed a critical understanding of US foreign policy in, and its impacts upon, Indochina between 1954 and 1975;
- have developed the ability to analyse the major assumptions, ideas, events and structures that influenced US policy during the Vietnam War;
- have developed advanced comprehension of the impact of US experiences in Vietnam on US institutions, policy, society and culture;
- be able to synthesise and evaluate arguments from the academic literature related to this unit, both orally and in written form.
Teaching Information
10x weekly two-hour seminars
Assessment Information
Over the course of the unit, students will:
- prepare and deliver a group seminar presentation (formative
assessment); (learning outcomes 2, 3 and 5)
- draft and submit a 400-word book review (formative assessment);
(learning outcomes 3 and 5)
- plan and draft a 3,500 - 4,000-word assessed essay (100% summative
assessment) (learning 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5).
Reading and References
Core readings are likely to include the following:
- George C. Herring (2002) America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975 (4th edition).
- Marilyn B. Young (1991) The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990.
- Robert Buzzanco (1999) Vietnam and the Transformation of American Life.
- Larry Berman (1982) Planning a Tragedy: The Americanization of the War in Vietnam.
- Larry E. Cable (1991) Unholy Grail: The US and the Wars in Vietnam, 1965-8.
- Christian G. Appy (Ed.) (2008) Vietnam: The Definitive Oral History, Told From All Sides.
