THE CHOICES PROGRAM BROWN UNIVERSITY
VIDEO COLLECTION

The Vietnam War:
Origins, History, and Legacies

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Introduction: A Long History of the Vietnam War

How would you assess American historical memory of the U.S. war in Vietnam?

Part I: Wars in Vietnam

What were some important viewpoints within the Vietnamese nationalist movement during the French colonial era?
How did regional, religious, or class-based differences influence the modern nationalist movement in Vietnam?
Which Vietnamese groups led the independence movement against French colonial rule?
What should students studying the U.S. war in Vietnam (1965-1973) know about the First Indochina War (1945-1954)?
What should students studying the U.S. war in Vietnam know about the French war to re-colonize Vietnam?
How and why did Ngo Dinh Diem rise to power in post-1954 South Vietnam?
What role did President Eisenhower play in the lead-up to the U.S. war in Vietnam?
How did the U.S. Cold War “containment” policy lead to the war in Vietnam?
What was President Kennedy’s role in the lead-up to the U.S. war in Vietnam?
What was the 1963 Buddhist crisis?

Part II: The U.S. War in Vietnam

What was President Lyndon Johnson’s role in the U.S. war in Vietnam?
What was the relationship between the U.S. and South Vietnam governments during the Vietnam War?
How did people in South Vietnam view Americans during the U.S. war in Vietnam?
How did city people in South Vietnam view the South Vietnamese government and the NLF during the U.S. war in Vietnam?
How did rural people in South Vietnam view the NLF and the South Vietnamese government during the war?
How did the U.S. war in Vietnam affect groups living in highlands regions of South Vietnam?
What role did the Soviet Union and China play in the Vietnam War?
What role did racism play in U.S. decision-making during the war in Vietnam?
What were some of the reasons Americans protested the Vietnam War?
What was significant about the 1968 Tet Offensive?
Why is it important to incorporate gender in the study of war?
Why is it important to study women’s experiences in war and in the military?
How did women’s experiences in the U.S. military change between World War II and the Vietnam War?
What was President Richard Nixon’s role in the Vietnam War?
Why were there protests at Kent State and Jackson in 1970?
What was the CIA’s role in the Vietnam War?
What were some of the consequences of internal migration during the U.S. war in Vietnam?
How did the U.S. war lead to increasing divisions between rural and urban areas in South Vietnam?
Who was Trinh Cong Son and what was his cultural impact during the U.S. war in Vietnam?
Who was Vo Phien and what was his cultural impact during the U.S. war in Vietnam?

Part III: After the War(s)

How did political repression evolve in (formerly) South Vietnam after the North Vietnam/NLF victory in 1975?
How did socialist policies shape (formerly) South Vietnam after the North Vietnam/NLF victory in 1975?
How did the U.S. war in Vietnam affect Laos and Cambodia?
How and why did the Vietnamese refugee crisis develop in post-1975 Vietnam?
What were some of the ways the Vietnam War changed the U.S. domestically?
What were the effects of anti-Vietnam War protests?
What were some of the ways the Vietnam War changed the U.S. internationally?
What are some important legacies of the U.S. war in Vietnam?

Lesson: Vietnamese History and Geography: Exploring Google Earth

What were some important viewpoints within the Vietnamese nationalist movement during the French colonial era?
What role did President Eisenhower play in the lead-up to the U.S. war in Vietnam?
How to analyze public memorials
What can art reveal about history or current events?
How do you go about analyzing a work of art?
What was President Lyndon Johnson’s role in the U.S. war in Vietnam?

Lesson: Going Deeper with Primary Sources: War in Vietnam, 1945-1965

What should students studying the U.S. war in Vietnam (1965-1973) know about the First Indochina War (1945-1954)?

Lesson: Women, Gender, and the Vietnam War

What is oral history?
What does it mean to study gender and history?
Why is it important to incorporate gender in the study of war?
Why is it important to study women’s experiences in war and in the military?
How did women’s experiences in the U.S. military change between World War II and the Vietnam War?
How have U.S. societal attitudes about women in war changed over time?

Lesson: Songs of the Global Revolutions of 1968 (Online)

Who was Trinh Cong Son and what was his cultural impact during the U.S. war in Vietnam?

Lesson: Oral Histories: Mapping the Vietnamese Refugee Crisis

How and why did the Vietnamese refugee crisis develop in post-1975 Vietnam?
What is oral history?
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