Introduction

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Vietnam War

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FWW Project

Primary study question:

Why does the Vietnamese-American War, a period of hostilities that
concluded in 1975, continue to haunt Americans in 1997?

Secondary study questions, logically derived from each of the seminar
sub-topics:

Sub-Topic 1: Popular culture as a reflection of the times (1950-1997),
with emphasis on the Vietnamese-American War years.

1. What themes characterized the literature, music, and poetry of the Viet Nam era, whether American, North Viet Nam, or South Viet Nam?

Sub-Topic 2: Ethical conduct when conducting war.

1. What constitutes a just war? Was the Vietnamese-American conflict a just war? Why or why not?

2. What was the nature and essence of the Vietnamese-American War? Was the Vietnamese-American conflict different from other wars fought this century? If so, why? If not, why?

3. Could the Vietnamese-American War have been won by South Viet Nam and the United States? Why or why not? If so, how? If so, at what additional cost? If not, why?

Sub-Topic 3. Tet Offensive, 1968.

1. Given that the 1968 Tet offensive was a defeat for North Vietnamese and Viet Cong military and political objectives, what impact if any, did television coverage of the Tet offensive have on extending or shortening the war; limiting or expanding post-Tet military activities; and American withdrawal?

2. Was media coverage of combat during World War II similar to or different from media coverage of combat during the Vietnamese-American War?

Sub-Topic 4. Aftermath of the Vietnamese-American War: Ecology and
environmental change.

1. What was the aftermath of the Vietnamese-American War regarding ecological change and environmental destruction, specifically, aspects of deforestation, herbicide contamination, unexploded ordnance, and loss of species diversity?

2. What have been the post-war impacts on health, poverty and
human suffering in Viet Nam and in America?

Sub-Topic 5. Viet Nam, 1997

1. Since the Republic of Viet Nam currently has implemented a program of economic restructuring (doi moi), an economic approach that blends Marxism with Capitalism, what led to this blend of political-economic "isms"?

2. Since both Viet Nam and the United States have established diplomatic relations, and economic development and trade between the two nations has been strongly encouraged, how does one explain the extraordinary loss of life and destruction associated with the Vietnamese-American War from the vantage of 1997?

3. What opportunities for business and tourism are offered by Viet Nam in 1997?