HST699: The United States in Vietnam, 1945-1975
15 credits (semester 2)
Module Leader: Dr. Michael Foley
| Module Summary |
This module focuses on the foreign policy objectives and domestic political considerations which led to direct military engagement in Vietnam and which sustained the US war. Students will consider the modernisation and limited war theories which fuelled US intervention in Southeast Asia, as well as the character of the Vietnamese revolution. The often contentious historiographical debates will be used to investigate how the Vietnam experience informed US foreign policy after disengagement. Studying how public opinion and domestic politics affected US policy in Vietnam will provide an understanding of the process of foreign policy-making and the war´s effects on American society.
| Module Aims |
This module aims to give students a solid grounding in the history of US intervention in Vietnam. Students will undertake a structured programme of reading, presentation and discussion. They will be expected to understand a range of contemporary perspectives and to grasp the ambiguities and complexity of both foreign policy and domestic politics at the time of this divisive conflict. Students will come to a better understanding of the international and internal history of the United States of America. Where appropriate the course draws on sources and methods from other disciplines, so enabling students to engage critically with a divergent range of historiographies, and to apply insights and models across methodological boundaries.
| Teaching |
The module will be taught in five, two-hour classes. Each class will focus on a particular theme for discussion such as the Vietnamese revolution and US Cold War doctrine, the Americanisation of the war; the military half, Domestic politics and protest, détente, the Nixon Doctrine and the legacy of a lost war. The seminars will draw on the rich and growing literature relating to the Vietnam War while each of the individual topics also relates to wider discussions of the nature of historical enquiry and investigation of modern history. Classes will enable students to research and present their ideas, share knowledge, debate controversial issues and listen and respond to the views of others in a structured environment. Students will, in addition, have individual tutorial contact with the module leader in order to discuss their written work for this module.
| Assessment |
Students will prepare a 3,000-word paper relating to at least one of the key themes of the module.
| Intended Learning Outcomes |
By the end of the module, a candidate will be able to demonstrate:
- A broad understanding of the United States military engagement in Southeast Asia and post-1945 foreign policy.
- The ability to define, deliberate and assess the reasons for US intervention in Vietnam and the rationale for the military policies pursued.
- The ability to assess conflicting historiographical arguments and to reach considered and independent conclusions in relation to such arguments.
- The ability to appreciate the roles of political and cultural histories in contributing to our understanding of diplomatic history and international relations.
- A capacity for informed and critical historical analysis.
- An ability to elaborate and defend an intellectual position and to present scholarly arguments and historiographical debates both orally and in writing.