Your instructor is John K. Ohl. My office is located in the Social/Cultural Science building (SCO 64) on the southwest side of the MCC campus. I can be reached by telephone at 602-461-7068, by fax at 602-461-7812.
Students can correspond with me by "Ohl's email service", a special form for those who do not have an email account. It also provides standard email for those who do have an account. Those who have email may write me at ohl@mc.maricopa.edu I am available for conferences during my scheduled office hours and by appointment. You are invited to visit my web page if you wish.

Course Guide

Course Description:

This course surveys the US Experience in Vietnam from 1945 to 1975 in view of the political, economic, and social forces of the Cold War. Your examination of the US experience in Vietnam will consist of a variety of projects. Some of these are required, while others are optional and will be determined in consultation with the instructor.

Course Content:

During the years 1945 to 1975 the United States sought to deny Vietnam to communism. At first, the United States sought to uphold French control, then to maintain South Vietnamese independence, and finally to prevent a North Vietnamese victory. American involvement in Vietnam was not an unfortunate accident as some have suggested but rather a conscious decision made by American leaders based on assumptions about the responsibilities and omnipotence of American power. Over the years six presidents grappled with the Vietnam problem, all unsuccessfully. In the process, the United States suffered a major foreign policy defeat, lost more than 58,000 lives, expended $167 billion, and endured political and social turmoil at home.

The purpose of this course is to examine America's experience in Vietnam. Major attention will be directed towards the questions which still remain unanswered for many Americans. Why did the United States commit itself to an area that before 1945 had little apparent importance? What did the United States attempt to achieve in Vietnam during its thirty-year-long involvement? Why did the United States, the world's most powerful nation, fail to achieve its objectives? What were the consequences of America's failed Vietnam experience for the Americans, the Vietnamese, and others? We also will look at other aspects of the Vietnam experience, including the role of the media, the reactions of participants, the nature and impact of the antiwar movement, and the interpretations presented in literature and film. At the end of the course it is my hope that the student will have gained a good understanding of the American experience in Vietnam, be familiar with the methods by which historians investigate the past and present their findings, and be encouraged to pursue further aspects of the Vietnam experience that are of especial interest.

Course Competencies:

To understand the important developments in America's participation in the Vietnamese wars.

To be familiar with the principal personalities and events that were significant in America's participation in the Vietnamese wars.

To examine the relationship between power and policy.

To understand the decision-making process in the political- military arena.

To understand the impact of the Vietnamese wars on America's role in world affairs and American society.

To be familiar with the historiographical aspects of America's participation in the Vietnamese wars.

To be familiar with the interpretations, perceptions and analyses of America's participation in the Vietnamese wars that are provided by literature and film.

To be familiar with the methods and materials utilized in historical study and the ways in which historians present their findings.

Required Text:

George Donelson Moss, Vietnam: An American Ordeal.

Additional materials that may be of assistance include the following:

David Anderson (ed.), Shadow on the White House: Presidents and the Vietnam War, 1945-1975. William J. Duiker, Sacred War H. Bruce Franklin (ed.), The Vietnam War in American Stories, Songs and Poems. George C. Herring, America's Longest War. Stanley I. Kutler (ed.), Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. Harry Maurer, Strange Ground: Americans in Vietnam 1945- 1975, An Oral History. Robert J. McMahon, Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War James W. Mooney and Thomas R. West (eds.), Vietnam: A History and Anthology. Andrew J. Rotter (ed.), Light at the End of the Tunnel: A Vietnam War Anthology. New York Times/CBS News, The War in Vietnam (CD-ROM). PBS, "Vietnam: A Television History." For a valuable bibliography, see Vietnam Bibliography.

Course Work:

At our first conference we will complete a plan for your study, including the projects you will complete, a time line for their completion, the criteria by which they will be graded, and the weight to be assigned to each in determining the final grade. Each project will be graded on the basis of its content and the quality of your presentation. The final grade will be based on your performance on the projects, utilizing the standard percentage breakdowns of the available points.

Projects may be submitted through one of the following methods:

• Ordinary email (john.ohl@mcmail.maricopa.edu)
• Fax: 602-461-7812
• In person (SCO 64)
• U.S. Mail:
  • Social Science Department: John Ohl
    Mesa Community College
    1833 W. Southern Ave.
    Mesa, Arizona 85202

Projects:

A. Reading Assignments:

You will read selections on various topics and answer questions and identify terms relating to them. I will grade each assignment as you complete it on the basis of the accuracy of your answers and the quality of your effort. The answers should be thorough but not unnecessarily long. You will indicate the specific resources you utilized in answering each of the questions. The questions and terms for these topics are included in this course guide.

Choose at least five.

B. Thought Papers:

You will write two thought papers of approximately three pages in length. The following is an example: You are one of LBJ's advisers in 1965. LBJ has to decide whether to escalate American military involvement in Vietnam. Give him your advice, calling upon your knowledge of the situations in Vietnam and the United States, LBJ's agenda as president, and his approach to dealing with problems.

C. Final Examination:

You will complete a final examination.

D. Other Projects (Choose at least one.):

1. Additional Reading Assignments (Examples):

The Air War	The Two Ground Wars
The Enemy: North Vietnam and the Viet Cong	The Ally: South Vietnam
The War at Home	The Media and the War
The Antiwar Movement	The Battlefield
Peace With Honor?	Literature and the War
Film and the War	POW-MIA
Vietnam Veterans

The additional reading assignments that you will do, if any, will be your choice. At that time we will decide what questions you will pursue with each of the topics you choose, the terms to identify, and the sources you might consult.

2. Book Review:

You will prepare a review of a book that we will choose in our consultation. Specific instructions for the review are available.

3. Oral History:

You will prepare an oral history based on interviews of at least three people who had some involvement with the war. To get a cross section two of them should be Vietnam veterans, and the third should have been an opponent of the war. If possible, also interview a Vietnamese emigrant or refugee. Specific instructions are available.

4. Historical Essay:

You will prepare a historical essay on a specific topic that you and I will select. Examples could be Vietnamization, Operation Phoenix, the Tonkin Gulf incident, Operation Rolling Thunder, to name a few possibilities. Specific instructions are available.

5. Journal:

You will keep a journal in which you will make regular entries. It will consist of brief summaries and commentaries on any articles, films, videos, poems, etc. that you read or view. The journal will be evaluated periodically during the span of the course.

6. Your Suggestion:

Other projects of your choosing, such as the preparation of a video, are a possibility. If you have any ideas about something different and unique that you would like to complete, let us discuss it and determine whether it is feasible.

A SAMPLE PROGRAM OF STUDY is available. (7 topics, two thought papers, final examination, and book review). AN INDIVIDUALIZED GRADE SHEET WILL BE PREPARED FOR EACH STUDENT.

Things to Keep in Mind:

1. Reminder: The mix of projects that you complete and the pace of your work load will be decided in our first conference, so be sure to give some thought to these and your purpose in taking the course before the conference.

2. You will have a scheduled conference with me each week until the completion of the course. If you miss more than two of these conferences without advance notice to me you may be withdrawn from the course. In addition, each week you will provide me with a brief, written report describing your progress in your assignment schedule. If you fail to provide more than two of these reports, you may be withdrawn from the course.

3. Students are expected to do their own work. For the college's policy in regard to academic dishonesty see the MCC student handbook.

4. The instructor is willing to make any reasonable accommodations for students with limitations due to disabilities, including learning disabilities. We can discuss any special needs you might have at the first conference.