The Vietnam War and American Culture: 1945 to the Present (26:352:517)  Fall 2011

Professor H. Bruce Franklin                       Office: Hill 515
Phone: 973-353-5444                               E-mail: hbf@andromeda.rutgers.edu
Office Hours: MON: 1:00-2:10; WED 2:30-4:00; and by appointment.
Home Page: http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~hbf

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Vietnam and America, edited by Marvin Gettleman, Jane Franklin, Marilyn Young, and H. Bruce Franklin. Grove Press, 1995. (Abbreviated as V&A.) Note: Do not use any earlier edition of this book.

Graham Greene, The Quiet American. Penguin paperback.

Ursula K. Le Guin, The Word for World Is Forest. Tor paperback.

The Vietnam War in American Stories, Songs, and Poems, edited by H. Bruce Franklin. Bedford paperback. (Abbreviated as ASSP.)

Robert Stone, Dog Soldiers. Mariner paperback.

W. D. Ehrhart, Passing Time. Univ. of Mass. Press paperback.

Alfredo Véa, Gods Go Begging.   Plume, Penguin paperback.

Tim O'Brien, In the Lake of the Woods. Penguin paperback.

(Any edition of these books by Greene, Ehrhart, Stone, Véa, and O'Brien is o.k., but page references in class discussion will be to these particular editions.)

 

MOVIES:

 

“Vietnam” as an ongoing presence in American culture is largely a Hollywood production.  Anyone who wants to comprehend relations between the war and American culture needs to be familiar with (as a very bare minimum) the following movies:   “The Deer Hunter” (1978); “Apocalypse Now” (1979); “Rambo” (1985); “Platoon” (1986); “Full Metal Jacket” (1987).   Those of you not already familiar with these films should see them as soon as possible but no later than our seminar meeting on September 26.

ASSIGNED READINGS must be completed by the indicated date:

September 8 (Monday schedule):  Organization, description, and methodology of the seminar.
Video: "The Roots of a War" [shown in seminar].

September 12  In V&A: pp. 515-522 [On page 520, eight lines from bottom, please make the following correction:  Change “January 16, 1961” to January 16, 1991.  This is crucial because it marks the beginning of the Iraq War.]; xiii-xv; 3-8; 15-28; 31-40; 46-48; 50-52; 65-76; 81-92.  Graham Greene, The Quiet American (1955).

September 19  V&A: ; 97-105; 113-129; "The Revolution Against Diem" (pp. 133-136; 156-160; 165-201; 205-236); The Americanization of the War" (pp. 239-254). In ASSP: pp. 1-69 (INTRODUCTION; FICTION; Inside the War; Michael Paul McCusker, "The Old Man"; Larry Rottmann, "Thi Bong Dzu"; David Huddle, "The Interrogation of the Prisoner Bung by Mister Hawkins and Sergeant Tree"; George Davis, "Ben"; Tom Mayer, "Kafka for President"; Tim O'Brien, "The Man I Killed.")

September 26   V&A: "The Movement Against the War" (pp. 295-300; 310-335). In ASSP: Ward Just, "The Congressman Who Loved Flaubert"; Mary Hazzard, from Idle and Disorderly Persons; Wayne Karlin, "Moratorium"; Introduction to Poems (pp. 221-24); poems by W. D. Ehrhart; Larry Rottmann, "What Kind of War?"; Horace Coleman, "OK Corral East/Brothers in the Nam." (Poetry assignments in ASSP refer to all the poems by the designated author unless specific poems are listed.)
Movie: "Only the Beginning" (1971) [shown in seminar.]

October 3  In ASSP: poems by Jan Barry, Richard M. Mishler, Stan Platke, Philip Appleman, Dale Ritterbusch, "Search and Destroy"; Larry Rottmann, "APO 96225," "For Cissy Shellabarger, R.N. Wherever You Are"; poems by Lady Borton; Sharon Grant; Penny Kettlewell; Basil T. Paquet; Yusef Komunyakaa; Frank A. Cross, Jr.; Bruce Weigl; June Jordan; Denise Levertov; Pedro Pietri; Luis Omar Salinas. In ASSP: Songs (pp. 205-220).

October 10  V&A: "The Decisive Year, 1968" (pp. 339-409); "What Happened at My Lai?" (pp. 410-424). V&A: pp. 471-479; 487-494 [Note: Compare the NLF's Ten Points (pp. 430-433) with the Paris Peace Accords (471-487).]  In ASSP: The Vietnam War and American Science Fiction; Kate Wilhelm, "The Village"; Karen Joy Fowler, “The Lake Was Full of Artificial Things”; Lewis Shiner, "The War at Home"; poems by Steve Hassett.

October 17  Ursula K. Le Guin, The Word for World Is Forest (1976; originally published as a novella in Again Dangerous Visions, ed. Harlan Ellison, 1972).  If you have not seen Avatar (2009), please see it; comparison with the Le Guin work will be a significant part of our discussion. 

October 24  Robert Stone, Dog Soldiers (1974.  Note that this novel was originally published the same year as the release of Hearts and Minds).
Movie: Hearts and Minds (1974; Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary Feature). [shown in seminar.]

October 31  V&A: pp. 427-437; 451-470.  W. D. Ehrhart, Passing Time (1986). 

November 7  Tim O'Brien, In the Lake of the Woods (1994).

November 14  Alfredo Véa, Gods Go Begging (1999).

November 21 No meeting (Wednesday schedule).

November 28  In ASSP: Aftermaths (introduction); Ronald Anthony Cross, "The Heavenly Blue Answer"; Stephanie Vaughn, "Kid MacArthur"; Wayne Karlin, "The Last VC"; poems by John Balaban; Marilyn M. McMahon; Ron Carter; Joan A. Furey; Janice Mirikitani; Linda Van Devanter; Dale Ritterbusch, "At the Crash Site of a B-52: January 1994"; Larry Rottmann, "The Bones of an American M.I.A. Speak to the Members of the Joint Casualty Resolution Team"; "Thanks, Guys.”  H. Bruce Franklin, “Missing in Action in the 21st Century” (to be posted on our listserve).

December 5  Presentations by members of the seminar.

December 12   Presentations by members of the seminar.

December 12  Final day for submission of original essay (minimum length 3,500 words). Extensions without penalty will be granted only for medical or other emergencies.

The essay must be an original work relating to one or more of the issues or works explored in the seminar. It should have something significant to communicate, and it should be worth its readers' time. Please note that after November 14, there is no assigned reading. This allows four weeks to spend on your essay, which is your only major project for the course. Your aim should be to produce a work of potentially publishable quality in both form and content.

The physical appearance of your work should be attractive and professional looking.  Citations and format should follow the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or The Chicago Manual of Style.

Presentations by Members of the Seminar

During the last three meetings, each member of the seminar will lead a discussion relevant to his or her essay.  When leading this discussion, you will be entirely in charge of the seminar.  You may use this as an opportunity to develop your essay and get feedback on that project.  You may use the time to pose problems you have encountered in developing your essay, to explore the subject of your essay more deeply, to present a brief version of your essay, or whatever you think most valuable.  Or you may simply explore some issue, concern, or work we are studying.  Before your presentation, you should supply all other members of the seminar with any written materials to be read in preparation. The easiest way to provide these materials is by e-mail through the listserve we’ll set up. Everybody needs to prepare for each discussion by studying the appropriate materials before that seminar meets.

Tests and Responsibility to Complete the Readings on Time

The success of the seminar depends on each member reading each assigned text on time and then contributing to our discussion on a level to be expected of a graduate student.  If it becomes apparent that some people are not adequately prepared, it may be necessary to resort to brief tests on the readings the date they are due.  Let’s try to avoid that.  There will be no midterm or final examination.