TRINITY COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO TRN 410Y: SELECTED TOPICS IN INTERNATIONAL STUDIES 2008-2009: THE VIETNAM WAR: 1946-1975 TIME: Monday, 4-6 p.m. INSTRUCTOR: Jack Cunningham OFFICE: 213N OFFICE HOURS: TBA Email: [email protected] COURSE CONTENT: This course covers the Vietnam conflict from the reassertion of French colonial rule in Indochina after World War Two through the fall of Saigon in 1975. We will discuss the French effort to retain control of Vietnam and its ultimate failure, the division of Vietnam into two states in 1954, the subsequent renewal of conflict, and the American military involvement from initial commitment to final withdrawal. The emphasis will be primarily upon matters of strategy and geopolitics, including the interaction of the Vietnam conflict with the wider Cold War. We will also cover the war’s impact upon American domestic politics, and on the international economy, relations between the United States and its allies, and the antiwar movement and its relationship to the social upheavals of the 1960s. Towards the end of the course, we will look at reflections of the war in American popular culture (notably film ), and its impact on subsequent debates over American politics and diplomacy. While the course is, in broad terms, organized chronologically, this framework is not rigid, and we will occasionally move back and forward in time in order to address certain topics thematically. COURSE TEXTS: The following required texts are available in the University of Toronto bookstore: th America’s Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975, 4 edn., by George C. Herring Assuming the Burden: Europe and the American Commitment to War in Vietnam, by Mark Atwood Lawrence Choosing War: The Lost Chance for Peace and the Escalation of War in Vietnam, by Fredrik Logevall Power and Protest: Global Revolution and the Rise of Detente, by Jeremi Suri Reporting Vietnam: American Journalism, 1959-1975, edited by Milton Bates et al Supplementary readings will be taken from journals readily available in the University of Toronto library system and volumes on short-term loan in the Trinity College Library. I will place other items in the “Cunningham” file at the reserve reading desk in the same library. Over the course of the year, and at your own convenience (although no later than the March 30 seminar) , I ask that you view the following films: “The Green Berets”; “Apocalypse Now”; “The Deer Hunter”; “Full Metal Jacket”; “Platoon” and “The Killing Fields.” These are all available as DVDs in U. Of T. Library collections, and can also be found in most well-stocked video emporia. 2/12 COURSE COMPONENTS: Seminar Presentations: 20% Overall participation: 20% Book Review: 10% Research Paper: 25% Final Examination: 25% SEMINAR FORMAT: Each seminar will open with a student presentation of approximately half an hour, providing an overview of the week’s topic and readings. The presentation should not merely recapitulate the pertinent facts, but offer a preliminary analysis with a definite point of view. Each presentation will be followed by general discussion. I will grade your presentations on the basis of your grasp and use of the readings, and the clarity, sophistication and originality of your analysis. In addition to your own presentations, each of you will be graded on your overall participation (not just your attendance). While you may not read all of the recommended readings each week, you should make a point of reading at least enough to come to class prepared to make an informed contribution to our discussion. You will be graded upon your demonstrated understanding of the readings, the frequency and quality of your observations, and your proficiency in argumentation. BOOK REVIEW: You will be asked to select one book from a list of scholarly works on the Vietnam War, which can be found at the end of this syllabus. (You may choose another work if you wish, but must obtain my prior approval.) In 1,200-1,500 words (roughly five to seven typed, double-spaced pages, depending upon fonts, margins, etc.) you are to provide a critical appraisal of the work’s underlying argument. Do the author’s conclusions follow from the facts presented? Is there a more persuasive analysis of the same events? Are there elements of the topic at issue which the author does not address? The book reviews are due on November 24, and will be returned a week later. RESEARCH PAPER: This is an exercise in the detailed analysis of a narrow topic. A list of potential topics appears later in this syllabus; you may write on a different topic if you wish, but are required to submit your proposed topic in writing for my prior approval. Your paper should develop a clear argument over 3,000-3,500 words, exclusive of scholarly apparatus (approximately twelve to fifteen typed, doublespaced pages, depending upon fonts, margins, etc.), and make substantial use of at least six different scholarly works. You will be graded upon the range and thoroughness of your research and the coherence and sophistication of your argument, not the conclusions at which you arrive. You are not expected to provide a “right answer”, but to make a persuasive case for what conclusions you do reach. You will not be penalized for presenting interpretations different from those in the sources you consult or that you hear from me or your fellow students in class. The research papers are due on March 23 and will be returned a week later. 3/12 Since this is a 400-level course, with enrolment limited to International Relations, History, and Political Science specialists, I do expect you to have a basic grounding in international politics since 1945. I also assume your acquaintance with the conventions of academic research and writing, and expect all written work will include foot- or end-notes and a complete bibliography. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with University regulations pertaining to plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct, and to conduct yourself accordingly. These are available on-line at: http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/plagsep.html Written work is to be handed in, in hard copy, during the seminar on the due date. Should you seek an extension on any piece of written work, be prepared to document either medical emergency or serious personal misfortune. Late work will be penalized at 2% per working day, and will not be accepted after the last day of classes. You are free to consult with me during my posted office hours or at other times by appointment. In addition, you can contact me about course-related matters at the email address supplied. Bear in mind that the UTORmail system routinely treats as spam messages that originate elsewhere (e.g., your hotmail or gmail account). I advise you to put “TRN410Y” in the subject line of emails to minimize the chances of their being treated as spam by UTORmail. I will reply to emails within two working days. FINAL EXAM: This will consist of two essay questions, and in each case you will have a choice of at least three topics. The first question will deal primarily with events up to early 1965, and the second with later events. While a grasp of illustrative detail is important, the emphasis will be upon broad themes arising from the course as a whole. SEMINAR SCHEDULE: September 8: Introduction to Course and Allocation of Seminar Presentations September 15: 1942-48: Restoring French Sovereignty Assuming the Burden, chs. 2-4 Gary Hess, “Franklin D. Roosevelt and Indochina, 1942-1945”, American Historical Review, v. 59 (1972), pp. 353-368 George C. Herring, “The Truman Administration and the Restoration of French Sovereignty in Indochina”, Diplomatic History, v. 1 (1977) September 22: Indochina and the Cold War in Asia, 1948-51 Assuming the Burden, chs. 5-6 Gary Hess, “The First American Commitment to Indochina: The Acceptance of the ‘Bao Dai Solution’, 1950”, Diplomatic History, v. 2 (1978) September 29: The Road to Dien Bien Phu, 1951-1954 4/12 George C. Herring and Richard H. Immerman, “Eisenhower, Dulles, and Dien Bien Phu: ‘The Day We Didn’t Go to War’ Revisited”, Journal of American History, v. 71 (1984), pp. 431-63 Zhai Qiang, “Transplanting the Chinese Model: Chinese Military Advisers and the First Vietnam War, 1950-1954”, Journal of Military History, v. 57 (1993), pp. 689-715 Daniel P. Green, “John Foster Dulles and the End of the Franco-American Entente in Indochina”, Diplomatic History, v. 16 (1992), pp. 551-574 Dennis E. Showalter, “Dien Bien Phu in Three Cultures”, War and Society, 16 (1998), pp. 93-108 October 6: The Geneva Conference and its Aftermath: 1954 Philip Hughes, “Division and Discord: British Policy, Indochina, and the Origins of the Vietnam War, 195456”, Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, v. 28 (2000), pp. 94-112 Roger Dingman, “John Foster Dulles and the Creation of the South East Asia Treaty Organization in 1954”, International History Review, August 1989, pp. 457-477 Zhai Qiang, “China and the Geneva Conference of 1954”, China Quarterly, #129 (1992), pp. 103-122 Pierre Asselin, “Choosing Peace: Hanoi and the Geneva Agreement on Vietnam, 1954-1955”, Journal of Cold War Studies, v. 9 (2007), pp. 95-126 October 13: Nation-Building, 1954-1961 America’s Longest War, ch. 2 Edward Miller, “Vision, Power, and Agency: The Ascent of Ngo Dinh Diem”, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, v. 35 (2004), pp. 433-459 Christopher T. Fisher, “Nation Building and the Vietnam War: A Historiography”, Pacific Historical Review, v. 74, #3, pp. 441-456 Reporting Vietnam, pp. 18-28 October 20: Kennedy and the Crisis in Laos: 1961-1963 Edmund F. Wehrle, “’A Good, Bad Deal’:John F. Kennedy, W. Averell Harriman, and the Neutralization of Laos, 1961-1962”, Pacific Historical Review, v. 67 (1998), pp. 349-377 Noam Kochavi, “Limited Accommodation, Perpetuated Conflict: Kennedy, China, and the Laos Crisis, 1961-1963”, Diplomatic History, v. 26 (2002), pp. 95-135 Lawrence Freedman, Kennedy’s Wars (on short term loan, Trinity College Library), ch. 32 (2-hour STL: E841 .F69 2000 TRIN) 5/12 October 27: The Cult of Counter-Insurgency, 1961-1963 Kennedy’s Wars, ch. 31 (2-hour STL: E841 .F69 2000 TRIN) Philip E. Catton, “Counter-Insurgency and Nation-Building: The Strategic Hamlet Programme in South Vietnam, 1961-1963”, International History Review, v. 21 (1999), pp. 918-940 Peter Busch, “Killing the ‘Vietcong’: The British Advisory Mission and the Strategic Hamlet Program”, Journal of Strategic Studies, v. 25 (2002), pp. 135-162 Michael W. Cannon, “Raising the Stakes: The Taylor-Rostow Mission”, Journal of Strategic Studies, v. 12 (1989), pp. 125-165 Reporting Vietnam, pp. 50-65 November 3: The Diem Coup Choosing War, chs. 1-3 Kennedy’s Wars, ch. 40 (2-hour STL: E841 .F69 2000 TRIN) Andrew Preston, “The Soft Hawks’ Dilemma in Vietnam: Michael V. Forrestal and the National Security Council, 1962-1964”, International History Review,V. XXVI (2003), pp. 63-95 Reporting Vietnam, pp. 36-49 November 10: LBJ and Escalation: 1963-1964 Choosing War, chs. 4-8 Robert Dallek, “Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam: The Making of a Tragedy”, Diplomatic History, v. 20 (1996), pp. 147-162 November 17: Americanizing the War: 1965 James Hershberg and Chen Jian, “Reading and Warning the Likely Enemy: Chinese Signals to the United States about Vietnam in 1965”, International History Review, v. XXVII (2005), 47-84 Choosing War, chs. 10-11 November 24: Strategy for Stalemate?: 1966-1967 America’s Longest War, chs. 4-5 David Milne, “’Our Equivalent of Guerrilla Warfare’: Walt Rostow and the Bombing of North Vietnam, 1961-1968”, Journal of Military History, v. 71 (2007), pp. 169-203 6/12 George C. Herring, “’Peoples Quite Apart’: Americans, South Vietnamese, and the War in Vietnam”, Diplomatic History, v. 14 (1990), pp. 1-24 Gary R. Hess, “The Military Perspective on Strategy in Vietnam”, Diplomatic History, v. 10 (1986), pp. 91106 December 1: Stirrings of Dissent, 1963-1967 Jennifer W. See, “A Prophet without Honor: Hans Morgenthau and the War in Vietnam, 1955-1965”, Pacific Historical Review, v. 70 (2001), pp. 419-447 Robert M. Buzzanco, “The American Military’s Rationale Against the War in Vietnam”, Political Science Quarterly, v. 101 (1986), pp. 559-576 Randall B. Woods, “Dixie’s Dove: J. William Fulbright, the Vietnam War, and the American South”, Journal of Southern History, v. 60 (2004), pp. 533-552 Power and Protest, ch. 3 Reporting Vietnam, pp. 76-84 January 5: Adversity and Opposition: 1967 James McAllister, “’A Fiasco of Noble Proportions’: The Johnson Administration and the South Vietnamese Elections of 1967”, Pacific Historical Review, v. 73 (2004), pp. 619-651 Mark G. Pribbenow II, “’The –Ology War: Technology and Ideology in the Vietnamese Defense of Hanoi, 1967”, Journal of Military History, v. 67 (2003), pp. 175-200 Chen Jian, “China’s Involvement in the Vietnam War, 1964-1969”, China Quarterly, #142 (1995), pp. 356387 Zhai Qiang, “Opposing Negotiations: China and the Vietnam Peace Talks, 1965-1968”, Pacific Historical Review, v. 68 (1999), pp. 21+ Reporting Vietnam, pp. 238-266 January 12: Tet: 1968 America’s Longest War, ch. 6 James J. Wirtz, “Deception and the Tet Offensive”, Journal of Strategic Studies, v. 13 (1990), pp. 82-98 Chester Pach, “Tet on TV” in Carole Fink et al, eds., 1968: The World Transformed (in Cunningham file, Trinity College Library) 7/12 Ronnie E. Ford, “Tet Revisited: The Strategy of the Communist Vietnamese”, Intelligence and National Security, v. 9 (1994), pp. 242-286 January 19: The ‘Annus Horribilis’ and Election of Richard Nixon: 1968 Robert M. Collins, “The Economic Crisis of 1968 and the Waning of the ‘American Century’”, American Historical Review v. 101 (1996) Power and Protest, chs. 4-5 Rick Perlstein, Nixonland: The Election of a President and the Fracturing of America, ch. 7 (Cunningham file) January 26: Nixon’s Strategy: 1969-1970 America’s Longest War, ch. 7 Kent G. Sieg, “The Lodge Peace Mission of 1969 and Nixon’s Vietnam Policy”, Diplomacy and Statecraft, v. 7 (1996), pp. 175-196 William Burr and Jeffrey Kimball, “Nixon’s Nuclear Ploy: the Vietnam Negotiations and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Readiness Test, October 1969”, available online at http://www.gwu/edu~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB81/ February 2: The Cambodian Crisis and its Effects: 1970 R. B. Smith, “The International Setting of the Cambodian Crisis, 1969-1970”, International History Review, v. XVIII (2005), pp. 303-331 Dominic Sandbrook, “Salesmanship and Substance: The Influence of Domestic Policy and Watergate”, in Nixon in the World: American Foreign Relations, 1969-1977, Fredrik Logevall and Andrew Preston, eds., (Cunningham file) February 9: Vietnam and the Coming of Détente: 1969-72 Power and Protest, ch. 6 Nixon in China: The Week that Changed the World, by Margaret Macmillan, chs. 7-8 and 16 (on short term loan in Trinity College Library) Lewis Sorley, “Courage of Blood: South Vietnam’s Repulsion of the 1972 Easter Offensive”, Parameters (Journal of the US Army War College), Summer 1999, pp. 38-56 February 16: Reading Week: No Classes February 23: Endgame: 1973-1976 8/12 Raymond W. Leonard, “Learning from History: Linebacker II and US Air Force Doctrine”, Journal of Military History, v. 58 (1994), pp. 267-303 T. Christopher Jespersen, “Kissinger, Ford, and Congress: The Very Bitter End in Vietnam”, Pacific Historical Review, v. 71 (2002), pp. 439-473 Robert D. Schulzinger, “The End of the Vietnam War, 1973-1976”, in Nixon in the World (Cunningham file) Cheng Guan An, “The Vietnam War from Both Sides: Revisiting ‘Marigold’, ‘Sunflower’ and ‘Pennsylvania’” War and Society, 24 (Nov. 2005), pp. 93-125 March 2: The Cambodian Catastrophe: 1975 Samantha Power, “’A Problem from Hell’: America and the Age of Genocide, ch.6 (short term loan, Trinity College Library) Reporting Vietnam, pp. 713-733 March 9: Vietnam’s Shadow Jeffrey Kimball, “The Stab-in-the-Back Legend and the Vietnam War”, Armed Forces and Society, v. 24 (1998), pp. 433-458 K.J. Campbell, “’Once Burned, Twice Cautious’: Explaining the Weinberger-Powell Doctrine”, Armed Forces and Society, v. 24 (1998), pp. 341-352 George C. Herring, “Reflecting the Last War: The Persian Gulf and the ‘Vietnam Syndrome’”, Journal of Third World Studies, v. 10 (1995), pp. 31-55 T. Christopher Jespersen, “Analogies at War: Vietnam, the Bush Administration’s War in Iraq and the Search for a Usable Past”, Pacific Historical Review, v. 74 (2003), pp, 411-426 March 16: Allied Experiences: Britain Matthew Jones, “US Relations with Indonesia, the Kennedy-Johnson Transition and the Vietnam Connection, 1963-1965”, Diplomatic History, v. 26 (2002), pp. 249-281 Rolf Steininger, “’The Americans are in a Hopeless Position’: Great Britain and the War in Vietnam, 19645”, Diplomacy and Statecraft, v. 9 (1997), pp. 237-285 Kevin Boyle, “The Price of Peace: Vietnam, the Pound, and the Crisis of the American Empire”, Diplomatic History, v. 27, #1 (Spring 2003) W.R. Louis, “The Dissolution of the British Empire in the Era of Vietnam”, American Historical Review, v. 107, (2002), pp. 1-25 9/12 March 23: Allied Experiences: Canada Andrew Preston, “Operation Smallbridge: Chester Ronning, the Second Indochina War, and the Challenge to the United States in Asia”, Pacific Historical Review, v. 72 (2003), pp. 353-390 _____________, “Balancing War and Peace: Canadian Foreign Policy and the Vietnam War, 1961-1965”, Diplomatic History, v. 27 (2003), pp. 73-111 Robert Bothwell, Alliance and Illusion: Canada and the World, 1945-1984, chs. 11-12 and 17 (short term loan, Trinity College Library) March 30: Vietnam in Popular Culture William Adams, “Vietnam Screen Wars”, in Culture in an Age of Money, ed. by Nicolaus Mills (Cunningham file) Terry H. Anderson, “American Popular Music and the War in Vietnam”, Peace and Change v. 14 (1986), pp. 51-65 April 6: Vietnam in Historical Perspective: Gary Hess, “The Unending Debate: Historians and the Vietnam War”, Diplomatic History, v. 18 (1994), pp. 239-264 TERM PAPER TOPICS: 1. How did anti-colonial sentiment affect American policies towards French actions in Indochina between 1945 and 1954? 2. Account for France’s military failure in Indochina between 1951 and 1954. 3. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Eisenhower administration’s handling of Dien Bien Phu? 4. Was the Geneva Settlement of 1954 inherently unsustainable? 5. Account for the successes and failures of “nation-building” in South Vietnam between 1954 and 1961. 6. Is it correct to see an infatuation with counterinsurgency techniques as leading the Kennedy administration fatally astray in its handling of Vietnam? 7. Evaluate the pros and cons of the Kennedy administration’s approach to the neutralization of Laos. 8. Measure the gains and losses for American policy from the Diem coup. 10/12 9. What were the consequences for American policy and domestic politics of the Gulf of Tonkin incident? 10. Explain and evaluate the reasoning behind the commitment of American ground forces in early 1965. 11. Discuss the military utility of strategic bombing in the Vietnam War. 12. How well-founded were the arguments of “realist” critics of the American effort in Vietnam between 1961 and 1968? 13. How did the Tet offensive affect the course of the war in terms of both its military dynamics and American politics? 14. Is it convincing to see the American antiwar movement as its own worst enemy for the period 1968-1972? 15. How valid were the assumptions behind the Nixon administration’s approach to Vietnam in 1969-1970? 16. What were the pros and cons of expanding American military operations to cover Cambodia? 17. How did the situation in Vietnam shape the timing and nature of superpower détente between 1969 and 1972? 18. Is it persuasive to see Congressional actions as preventing the Nixon and Ford administrations from taking assertive action to defend South Vietnam after 1973? 19. Identify and evaluate the “lessons” drawn from Vietnam by subsequent American strategists and political figures. 20. How did divisions over Vietnam shape America’s later “culture wars”? 21. At what moment do you believe American defeat in Vietnam became unavoidable? BOOKS FOR REVIEW: Michael E. Latham, Modernization as Ideology: American Social Science and “Nation Building” in the Kennedy Era Sandy Vogelgesang, The Long Dark Night of the Soul: The American Intellectual Left and the Vietnam War David L. Anderson, Trapped by Success: the Eisenhower Administration and Vietnam, 1953-1961 _________The Human Tradition in the Vietnam Era 11/12 Edmund F. Wehrle, Between a River and a Mountain: The AFL-CIO and the Vietnam War Kevin Ruane, War and Revolution in Vietnam, 1930-1975 Douglas A. Ross, In the Interests of Peace: Canada and Vietnam, 1954-1973 Andrew F. Krepinevich, The Army and Vietnam Harry G. Summers, On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War Mark Clodfelter, The Limits of Air Power: The American Bombing of Vietnam Eric M. Bergerud, The Dynamics of Defeat: The Vietnam War in Hau Nghia Province Mark Moyar, Phoenix and the Birds of Prey: The CIA’s Secret Campaign to Destroy the Vietcong __________, Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965 Larry Berman, Planning a Tragedy: The Americanization of the War in Vietnam ___________, Lyndon Johnson’s War: The Road to Stalemate in Vietnam ___________, No Peace, No Honor: Nixon, Kissinger, and Betrayal in Vietnam Herbert Y. Schandler, The Unmaking of a President: Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam William M. Hammond, Reporting Vietnam: Media and Military at War Peter Braestrup, Big Story: How the American Press and Television Reported and Interpreted the Crisis of Tet 1968 in Vietnam and Washington William J. Duiker, US Containment Policy and the Conflict in Indochina ______________, The Communist Road to Power in Vietnam Ilya V. Gaiduk, The Soviet Union and the Vietnam War T.O. Smith, Britain and the Origins of the Vietnam War: UK Policy in Indochina, 1943-1950 H.R. McMaster, Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies that Led to Vietnam Brian VanDeMark, Into the Quagmire: Lyndon Johnson and the Escalation of the War in Vietnam Michael Lind, Vietnam, the Necessary War 12/12 David E. Kaiser, American Tragedy: Kennedy, Johnson, and the Origins of the Vietnam War Adam Garfinkle, Telltale Hearts: The Origins and Impact of the Vietnam Antiwar Movement Andrew Preston, The War Council: McGeorge Bundy, the NSC, and Vietnam Samuel L. Popkin, The Rational Peasant: The Political Economy of Rural Society in Vietnam Martin Shipway, The Road to War: France and Indochina, 1944-1947 Kathryn Statler, Replacing France: The Origins of American Intervention in Vietnam Arnold R. Isaacs, Without Honor: Defeat in Vietnam and Cambodia Peter Busch, All the Way with JFK? Britain, the US, and the Vietnam War Jeffrey P. Kimball, Nixon’s Vietnam War Pierre Asselin, A Bitter Peace: Washington, Hanoi, and the Making of the Paris Agreement Edwin E. Moise, Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War Loren Baritz, Backfire: A History of How American Culture Led Us Into Vietnam and Made Us Fight the Way we Did Leslie H. Gelb and Richard K. Betts, The Irony of Vietnam: The System Worked Ronald H. Spector, After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam N.B.: Students with the intellectual fortitude required for research in documentary source materials are encouraged to make use of the volumes dealing with Vietnam in the US State Department’s series Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS), which are available in the Government Publications section of Robarts Library. Students are also advised to look at the Vietnam Virtual Archive, maintained by Texas Tech University, and available at http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/ This resource contains many thousands of items, including government documents, photographic negatives, oral history interviews, and maps, and is a model of its kind. Additional Course Reserves Brands Vietnam and the Origins of Détente (2-hour STL: CUNNINGHAM FILE TRIN) Brinkley 1968 and the Unraveling of Liberal America (2-hour STL: CUNNINGHAM FILE TRIN) Sandbrook Salesmanship and Substance (2-hour STL: CUNNINGHAM FILE TRIN) Schulzinger Richard Nixon, Congress and the War in Vietnam (2-hour STL: CUNNINGHAM FILE TRIN) -------------- The End of the Vietnam War (2-hour STL: CUNNINGHAM FILE TRIN) Tucker China Under Siege (2-hour STL: CUNNINGHAM FILE TRIN)
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