HST699 The United States in Vietnam, 1945-1975
15 credits, Semester two
Module leader 2023-24: Andy Lee
Listed on MA Modern History, MA American History, MA Global History, MA Historical Research
Module summary
The Vietnam War remains one of the most divisive episodes in modern history. It was a war fought without censorship. It was a war that pushed the American Imperial project to its very limits. It was a war in which thousands of students took to the streets to burn their draft cards in acts of defiance. It was a war that exposed the socio-economic division at home with the vast majority of those drafted to fight and die overseas coming from working class and African American backgrounds. And it was a war that the U.S. ultimately lost. America's longest war, the Vietnam conflict, continues to evoke conflicting interpretations, meanings and memories. It is the aim of this module to chart the contentious history of the Vietnam War from 1945 to 1975.
The course examines the role of the United States in Vietnam from 1945 to 1975, focusing on the foreign policy objectives and domestic political considerations which led to direct military engagement and which sustained the US war. You will consider the modernisation and limited war theories which fuelled US intervention in Southeast Asia, and will seek to understand the character of the Vietnamese revolution. You will assess relevant, often highly contentious, historiographical debates, and will analyse the role of the Vietnam experience in informing US foreign policy in the years following disengagement. You will also examine the protest culture that emerged in the wake of Vietnam, looking at the birth of the anti-war movement, draft resistance and popular cultural responses to the war. By analysing how public opinion and domestic political issues affected US policy in Vietnam, you will gain a greater understanding of the process of American foreign policy-making and how American longest war fundamentally altered society.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, you will be able to:
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 construct and defend oral arguments as part of class discussion
The ability to appreciate the roles of political and cultural histories in contributing to our understanding of diplomatic history and international relations
Assessment methods
Assessment type - % of final mark
3000 word essay - 100%
You will complete a 3000 word essay on a topic related to one of the module's key themes. You will define your own essay topic in discussion with your tutor.
Additional learning and teaching information
Teaching and indicative seminar plan:
The module will be taught in five, two-hour classes. You will also have individual tutorial contact with the module tutor in order to discuss your assessment for this module.
The classes will be based on the following topics: Americanisation of the Vietnamese War; Patriotism and the G.I. Experience; Anti-war Movement at Home; Changes to US Society and Popular Culture; Legacy of the Vietnam Conflict. There is a rich and growing literature relating to the Vietnam War and to each of these topics, which relate to wider discussions of the nature of historical enquiry and investigation of modern history.
Selected reading:
George C. Herring, America’s Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975 (4th edn., 2002)
Christian G. Appy, Working Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam (1993)
Michael Herr, Dispatches ( 1978).
Michael S. Foley, Confronting the War Machine: Draft Resistance during the Vietnam War ( 2003).
Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazin, America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s (1999)
Tom Wells, The War Within: America’s Battle over Vietnam (2016)
Melvin Small, Antiwarriors: The Vietnam War and the Battle for America’s Hearts and Minds (2002)
Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, Peace Now! American Society and the Ending of the Vietnam War (1999)