Chiến Tranh Việt Nam Toàn Cầu
For over 30 years from the end of World War II, a series of interconnected conflicts occurred on the Indochina peninsula. The wars in Vietnam evolved from an anti-colonial struggle into a superpower confrontation and were central to the decades-long global encounter known as the Cold War. As conflict in Vietnam grew in intensity and complexity, it took on increasingly global implications, drawing in a diverse range of rival states and non-state actors.
This course will examine critical historiographical questions, including:
The course will also explore broader international events and trends: empire and decolonization, the Chinese Civil War, the Sino-Soviet Split, Détente, and the Cambodian Genocide. Course assignments aim to strengthen reading, writing, research, and critical thinking skills.
Instructions will be provided on Canvas.
Jan 8: Introduction
Jan 10: The Origins of France’s Indochina Empire
Jan 15: Vietnamese Anti-Colonialism
Jan 17: WWII and the August Revolution
Jan 22: First Indochina War
Jan 24: U.S. Policy Toward Vietnam
Jan 29: Mao’s China and Vietnam
Jan 31: End of the First Indochina War
Feb 26: Geneva Conference
Feb 28: The "Great Migration"
Mar 1: Journal Article Review Due
Mar 4: Two Vietnams: The North
Mar 6: Two Vietnams: The South
Mar 11: Origins of the Insurgency
Mar 13: Counterinsurgency
Mar 15: Mid-Term Exam Due
Mar 18: Death of Two Presidents
Mar 20: Escalation, 1963–65
Mar 25–29: Mid-Term Break
Apr 1: Lyndon Johnson’s War
Apr 3: Military Strategy
Apr 8: The Ground War
Apr 10: Bombing of North Vietnam
Apr 15: Tet Offensive
Apr 17: Home Fronts
Apr 22: Nixon’s War
Apr 24: Fighting While Negotiating
Apr 29: Reunification Day – No class
May 1: Labor Day – No class
May 3: Historiographical Essay Due
May 6: Paris Peace Accords
May 8: The Fall of Saigon
May 13: Legacies
May 17: Final Exam Due