KSCB090 Vietnam War

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Jakub Drábik, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Bc. Denisa Hilbertová, M.A. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Jakub Drábik, Ph.D.
Department of Chinese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: doc. Mgr. Jakub Drábik, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Chinese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 10:00–11:40 C33, except Mon 21. 4. to Sun 27. 4.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 120 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 120/120, only registered: 0/120, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/120
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course provides in-depth insight into the historical, political, military, and social context of the Vietnam War (1955-1975). It focuses on the causes of the conflict, key events, strategic considerations, the role of the United States and Vietnamese actors, and the long-term effects of the war on international politics and Vietnamese society.
Learning outcomes
Understand the causes and course of the Vietnam War. Analyze key military strategies and operations. Discuss the role of the media and public opinion during the conflict. Evaluate the effects of the war on Vietnam, the United States, and international relations.
Syllabus
  • Introduction to Vietnam before the war, French Indochina The division of Vietnam and the First Indochina War The beginnings of the American intervention U.S. and Vietcong military strategies Key battles (Tet Offensive, Dien Bien Phu, Khe Sanh) Role of media and public opinion Anti-war movement in the US and around the world The Nixon Doctrine and the Vietnamization of the conflict Peace negotiations and the Paris Agreement The fall of Saigon and the end of the war The effects of the war on Vietnam and the US Historical memory and the representation of war in culture Contemporary legacies of the Vietnam War Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Literature
    recommended literature
  • PAYNE, Kenneth. The psychology of strategy : exploring rationality in the Vietnam war. First published. London: Hurst & company, 2015, xii, 222. ISBN 9781849043373. info
  • Waitingone wife's year of the Vietnam War. Edited by Linda Moore-Lanning. 1st ed. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2009, xiii, 316. ISBN 160344162X. info
  • Before the killing fieldswitness to Cambodia and the Vietnam War. Edited by Leslie Fielding. London: I.B. Tauris, 2008, xxxii, 261. ISBN 9781845114930. info
  • Daily lives of civilians in wartime modern America : from the Indian wars to the Vietnam war. Edited by David Stephen Heidler - Jeanne T. Heidler. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2007, xxix, 182. ISBN 9780313335341. info
  • The Columbia guide to the Vietnam War. Edited by David L. Anderson. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002, xiv, 308 p. ISBN 0231114931. info
  • CHONG, Denise. The girl in the picture : the story of Kim Phuc, the photograph and the Vietnam war. New York: Penguin Books, 2001, xii, 368. ISBN 0140280219. info
  • Apocalypse thenAmerican intellectuals and the Vietnam War, 1954-1975. Edited by Robert R. Tomes. New York: New York University Press, 1998, xi, 293 p. ISBN 0814782345. info
Teaching methods
Lectures plus materials in IS
Assessment methods
Multiple choice test
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/KSCB090