Time Schedule:
Christoph Giebel
SISSE 265
Seattle Campus
Recent Vietnamese history and struggles for independence and national unification vis-a-vis French colonialism, Japanese occupation, American intervention, and internal divisions. Covers historical roots and contemporary contexts of revolution and war, objectives and motivations of participants, and the enormous human costs. Emphasizes socio-cultural changes and wars' legacies. Offered: jointly with HSTAS 265.
Class description
This is an in-depth analysis of recent Vietnamese history and the struggles for independence and national unification vis-a-vis French colonialism, Japanese occupation, American intervention, and deep internal divisions. It covers the historical roots and the contemporary contexts of revolution and war, various objectives and motivations of its Vietnamese participants, and the enormous human costs suffered by the wars' victims. It emphasizes profound changes brought about in Vietnamese culture and society and probes the wars' lasting political, economic, moral, and intellectual legacies in contemporary, post-socialist Viet Nam.
Reflecting the wide array of issues, ideologies, and participants involved in the conflicts, the course will employ a multi-faceted approach, including a basic textbook, primary sources (in English), several memoirs, literature, scholarly articles, and interspersed brief visual documentaries. Classes will be geared towards active learning and conducted in a combination of lectures and discussions. This is a "W" course when taught with Teaching Assistants.
Student learning goals
critical thinking
critical reading
historical contextualization (imperialism, anti-colonialism, Cold War, nationalism, etc.)
multi-perspective understanding of modern Viet Nam and the wars in Viet Nam
awareness of nationalist discourses and mythologies
General method of instruction
Lectures, discussions, video segments, guest speakers, and readings
Recommended preparation
No prerequisites, but be prepared to read a lot.
Class assignments and grading
Class assignments and grading will be outlined in the course syllabus.
Exams (but no final exam), assignments, active participation
