Office: Wallace Hall L-6
Office Hours: Mondays.and Wednesdays, 10:00-11:00 and noon to 1:00; Tuesdays and Thursdays noon to 12:30 p.m., and by appointment
Office Phone: 457-2372
E-mail Address: stacy@monm.edu
Monmouth College
Department of History
Monmouth, Illinois
The Vietnam Era
Fall 2011
| Dr. Stacy A. Cordery Office: Wallace Hall L-6 Office Hours: Mondays.and Wednesdays, 10:00-11:00 and noon to 1:00; Tuesdays and Thursdays noon to 12:30 p.m., and by appointment Office Phone: 457-2372 E-mail Address: stacy@monm.edu |
| Course Objectives This course is not a course solely about the Vietnam Conflict, nor is it strictly military history. Instead, the course will cover the era in United States history that was colored by U.S. involvement in Indochina, 1945-1975. We will be looking variously at foreign policy during the Cold War, the Vietnam Conflict itself, the experiences of those who were affected by the war, the resultant social changes, the effect of the conflict on the domestic agenda of the presidents of the era, and the repercussions of all of this for the rest of the globe. |
| Course Format This is not a lecture class. Uncivil Wars is the book you have chosen for our text, and I expect that you will read closely, carefully, and thoroughly the assignments in that text to prepare for our classroom discussions. The same diligence should be applied to the documents assigned from Takin' It to the Streets, as well as other readings. I expect that you will come prepared to contribute to class discussions which will grow more lively and and informed the more we all read, analyze, and synthesize. |
| Required Books Mark Hamilton Lytle, Uncivil Wars: The Sixties from Elvis to the Fall of Richard Nixon Bloom and Breines, eds., 'Takin' It to the Streets': A Sixties Reader, 2nd edition Wallace Terry, Bloods Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test Nicholas Warr, Phase Line Green: The Battle for Hue, 1968 |
Assignments
1) Map quiz (20): Since an understanding of the geography of Vietnam is crucial for an understanding of Vietnamese history, U.S. foreign policy, and the veterans’ experiences, you will have a twenty point map quiz. Here is your list of terms to study.
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2) Oral presentation (150): At the point designated in the semester, you will teach the class on the topic you have chosen. To that end, you must assign the readings for that day well in advance. You must lead the discussion, without monopolizing it. You may use visual aids, as long as they illuminate your subject and assist in your colleagues' learning--and as long as you don't use visual aids as a substitute for your teaching. Your grade will be based upon the thoroughness of of your understanding of the subject, your ability to convey the information to the class, the appropriateness of your readings, and an annotated bibliography you will hand in to me at the conclusion of the class. The bibliography should contain all of the works you consulted in preparation for teaching. An annotated bibliography must include a paragraph explaining the source and its use to you. The bibliography must be done according to the Chicago Manual of Style. The bibliography is worth fifty points (so impress me) and the teaching is worth one hundred points. If you are not ready to present on the day assigned you on the syllabus, you will automatically drop one letter grade.
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3) The oral history project (100) consists of the following:
a)
finding someone appropriate to interview;
b)
writing up germane interview questions based on their experiences and our
readings which you will hand in (10 points);**
c)
conducting a THIRTY MINUTE audiotape interview (60 points);
d)
writing up a brief paper (no more than three pages; 30 points) that explains what you learned from the interview;
e)
handing in the questions, the tape, the paper, and a release form from the
interviewee.
You will not get full credit if any of these steps are missing or if not all of the required items are turned in on time. You will not get full credit if the tape is shorter than thirty minutes. I will not accept the tape if it is not accompanied by a release form.
** Appropriate questions are those which are experience based. Asking "who ran for president in 1968 and what did you think of them?" is not a good question. That is asking your interviewee to teach you history, and you are supposed to be the history expert here. Questions about your interviewee’s OWN experiences are best.
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4) Classroom discussions (100): This class is a discussion-based class. I take the discussion part very seriously, and hence have weighted it as much as one of your book papers. You should contribute to the discussions throughout the semester. Be sensitive to your colleagues and respectful of their opinions. Don’t monopolize the discussion--it’s not easy to discuss with a class this size, and it will help if you are self-policing. Engage each other in discussion--don’t talk only to me. There are no stupid questions in this classroom, and I hope you’ll never fear to express your thoughts. After every class discussion time, I’ll go back to my office and make a check in my grade book to identify everyone who spoke that day, and that’s how I’ll start to evaluate the discussion grade.
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5) Book papers (100 x 3 = 300): You will write a paper based upon the three books we will read (The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Bloods, and Phase Line Green). Book questions will be handed out in plenty of time, and you may hand in the book papers early. These will be thesis-based, analytical papers with beautiful grammar and exceptional prose. Your arguments will be infused with the information you have mastered from earlier in this course.
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ATTENDANCE POLICY: Alas, as of 5 September, we now have an attendance policy. After three unexcused absences, you will be placed on a no-cut policy. Excused absences require a note from a physician, a coach, or another professor.
One last thing: This syllabus is subject to change at the professor's discretion, but not until I tell you all about the changes.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Apologies in advance for the language used on the Youtube video comments. To avoid it, don't scroll down below the videos.
Aug 23: Introduction and
Explanation of the Class
Aug 25: The Lessons Vietnam Learned from the Past
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Aug 30: French
Colonial Rule and the Development of Vietnamese Nationalism
Sept 1: Dien Bien Phu and the Geneva Conference
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Sept 6: Chapter 1: The Consensus
A brief excerpt from
"Reefer Madness"
The Howdy Doody Show
Sept 8: Chapters 2 and 3: The Cultural Cold War and Cracks in the Consensus
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Sept 13:
Chapter 4: The New Generation
M. L. King, "The Power of Nonviolence," 15
A. Moody, 18
SNCC Founding Statement, 21
Port Huron Statement, 50
The Sharon Statement, 290
Sept 15: Chapter 5: The Cold War on the New Frontier
Kennedy campaign speeches
Kennedy
campaign commercial
Kennedy--Nixon debate 1960
Nixon
campaign commercial
|
Mentioned in class today: |
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Sept 20:
Chapter 6: The Second Civil War
The Freedom Rides, 22
Letters from Mississippi, 29
Birmingham,
1963
Letter from a Birmingham Jail
SNCC, The Basis for Black Power, 116
Fannie Lou Hamer on the roots of her activism
Walter Cronkite announces
the death of Pres. Kennedy
Sept 22:
Chapter 7: 1964
San Francisco Bray, 237
Love, Janis, 240
Janis Joplin live
Nothing Would Ever Be the Same, 242
Rock and Roll is a Weapon of Cultural Revolution, 243
Pres. Johnson's speech on
civil rights, 1965 (for the Voting Rights Act)
Hamer and Schwerner, Testimony, 34
Lodge on Removing Diem, 161
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, 162
SNCC Position Paper, 38
Hayden and King, Sex and Caste: A Kind of Memo, 40
Free Speech Movement, Rossman, 81 & Savio, 89, & Leaflets, 92-96
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Sept 27: Teresi::
The Beatles
Sept 29:
Chapter 8: Teach
In, Strike Out
Pres. Johnson, on Why Fight in Vietnam?, 166
Paul Potter, The Incredible War, 174
SDS Call for March on Washington, 183
SNCC Position Paper on Vietnam, 184
Watts, 108 & 109
Watts newsreel -- pay
attention to the language used to describe the events and the participants
George Skakel, One Soldier's View, 168
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Oct 4:
Arambula, The Berrigan Brothers
Fr. Berrigan at Cornell,
191
For the last fifteen minutes:
Pres. Johnson, on Why Fight in Vietnam?, 166
Paul Potter, The Incredible War, 174
SDS Call for March on Washington, 183
SNCC Position Paper on Vietnam, 184
Watts, 108 & 109
Watts newsreel -- pay
attention to the language used to describe the events and the participants
George Skakel, One Soldier's View, 168
Oct 6: Lindorff, Art and the 1960s
Larry Neal, Black Art and Black Liberation, 122
For the last fifteen minutes: whatever we don't finish from Tuesday's readings
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Oct 11: Fall Break--take home The Electric
Kool-Aid Acid Test to read
Oct 13:
Chapter 9: The Great Freak Forward
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
The Drug Culture, 254-264
Hippies, 268-278
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Oct 18: Hoffman, Women Strike for Peace
| Electric Kool-Aid Acid paper due |
Oct 20: Driscoll: the Birth Control Pill
The Sexual Revolution, 264-267
No More Miss America, 404
NOW Bill of Rights, 398
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Oct 25:
Chapter 10: A Very Bad Year Begins
Jimi Hendrix live
Clip from The Graduate
COINTELPRO, 317-324
Detroit 1967, Newsreel
Black Panthers, 125-130
Oct 27: Map quiz,
then read ahead for Phase Line Green next week
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Nov 1: Chapter 11: A Bad Year Gets
Worse
M. L. King's Declaration, 186
Draft
resistance, 193-209
Walter Cronkite Remembers
Dan
Rather, embedded in Vietnam
"The
Hell of Vietnam", to "The Eve of Destruction"
This one will surprise you!
Nov 3:
Bloods
| Bloods paper due-exam handed out in class |
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Nov 8: Folger: Khe Sahn
Nov 10: No Class--be reading Phase Line Green
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MONDAY, NOV. 14: Guest Speaker, 7:00 p.m.???
Nov 15: Phase Line Green
| Phase Line Green paper due |
Nov 17: Gillengerten: 1968
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Nov 22: Fry: Woodstock
Woodstock &
Altamont, 508-511
Coming of
Aquarius, 511-516
Nov 24:
Thanksgiving Break
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Nov 29:
Chapter 12: The Rise of Gender and Identity Politics
Betty Friedan,
388
Redstockings
Manifesto, 407
The Politics
of Housework, 412
Women Support
Panther Sisters, 415
Women Destroy
Draft Files, 416
Double
Jeopardy: To Be Black and Female, 43
Gay Power
Comes to Sheridan Square, 499
Lesbians and
the Ultimate Liberation of Women, 506
Dec 1: Chapter 13: Identities of Race and
Ethnicity
The
Mexican-American Woman, 444
What is
Reality?, 452
Cesar
Chavez
From yesterday: if you have never heard
Helen Reddy sing "I Am Woman," click
here
and listen.
|
ORAL HISTORY PROJECTS DUE in class. Don't forget your release form. |
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Dec 6:
Chapters 14 & 15, Taking on the State and The Uncivil Wars
The final exam for this class is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. Friday, 9 December. Neither the date nor the time of this final may be changed.
Pagan, Kent State/Jackson State
Delessio,
Anti-War Music
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