| Title: | Vietnam War Stories |
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| Course Section Number: | HIS-240-01 |
| Department: | History |
| Description: | The Vietnam War damaged the trust between the American people and the U.S. government and caused many Americans to question the purpose of military power and conflict. In numerous small towns across America including Crawfordsville, declining economic opportunities collided with traditional notions of patriotism, service, and masculinity to send local youth to the war effort at disproportionate rates. At the same time, on college campuses, young men and women avoided the war and engaged in antiwar protests. Although Wabash College and the Crawfordsville community have often operated as two independent societies segregated along lines of class and opportunity, the Vietnam War and the call to serve widened the divide, juxtaposing local ideas about service, sacrifice and manhood with changing values about the meaning of patriotism, war and masculinity. Some Wabash students including Michael J. Hall and Philip Ducat, enlisted, fought, and died in Vietnam alongside five of their Crawfordsville community peers. Other Wabash men, distanced themselves from the pressures of war and protested against a war they saw as unjust. The "fundamental difference, "between those who serve and those who learn Wabash student Steve Shraber struggled to explain to his Wabash brothers, was "they could kill and we know we can't." Through the collection of oral history narratives of local Vietnam War Veterans, this course will study changing ideas about patriotism, masculinity and service in the Vietnam War era. Students are trained in oral history interviewing techniques, transcription, and the representation of oral evidence. Using the Vietnam War as a guide, the class will read theoretical material about collective memory, the relationship between memory and history, generational memory, trauma and memory, and the challenges and possibilities of co-creating oral narrative as history. Students will audit transcriptions, listen to audio interviews and oral history podcasts as they evaluate how co-creating an interview impacts its meaning. They also engage in listening exercises to deepen their ability to co-create nuanced oral histories. Each student will conduct a series of interviews with selected people associated with the Vietnam War including local Vietnam War veterans, and edit the texts for digital publication. Prerequisites: Two of the following courses: HIS-101, 102, 241, 242, or 243. |
| Credits: | 1.00 |
| Start Date: | January 20, 2020 |
| End Date: | May 9, 2020 |
| Meeting Information: |
01/20/2020-05/06/2020 Lecture Monday, Wednesday 02:10PM - 03:25PM, Baxter Hall, Room 201
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| Faculty: | Thomas, Sabrina |
Course Status
| Section Name/Title | Status | Dept. | Capacity |
Enrolled/ Available/ Waitlist |
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