This module offers students the opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War and the profound impact that this conflict has had on American politics and political culture since it concluded. The first half of the module examines the history of the war itself: how the United States first intervened in Vietnam during the Second World War and the early Cold War; Lyndon Johnson's decision to commit large numbers of ground troops in 1965; combat in the air and on the ground; the disastrous Tet offensive and its impact on American claims to progress; Richard Nixon's slow withdrawal of troops and simultaneous expansion of the war's territorial scope into Laos and Cambodia; and finally, the fall of Saigon and Communist victory in April 1975. The second half of the module focuses more on the different ways in which the war has been understood, especially in the United States, over the last forty years. This includes attention to scholarly interpretations and popular memory of the conflict as distilled through different media, including Hollywood film, and approaches to understanding America's allies and enemies in Vietnam.
The module therefore encompasses not just international and military history, but also social and cultural aspects of the war. Combining these approaches will help students understand the enormous effect that the war has had on American public life, why it is important to understand it, and why so many myths surrounding American involvement in Southeast Asia still persist.
The module therefore encompasses not just international and military history, but also social and cultural aspects of the war. Combining these approaches will help students understand the enormous effect that the war has had on American public life, why it is important to understand it, and why so many myths surrounding American involvement in Southeast Asia still persist.