The Makings of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos

Georgetown University
HIST 3310

Semester: Spring 2024
Time: Monday, 2–4:30 p.m.
Classroom: Maguire Hall #104
Instructor: Jeffrey C. H. Ngo
Email: cn460@georgetown.edu

Overview

Most students are cognizant of a few things — from movies, television shows, songs, internet memes, memoirs, popular accounts — about the conflict known in America as the Vietnam War and in Vietnam as the American War. It’s one of the most scrutinized events in U.S. history because of its extensive impact on foreign policy as well as domestic politics. But the public discourse around it, not unlike a lot of the scholarship that informs it, is framed largely by American encounters, perceptions, and competing agendas. In their laudable attempt to make a point about Vietnam being “a country, not a war,” meanwhile, Southeast Asianists equipped with better background knowledge and proper language training tend to avoid this well-worn episode to prioritize other lines of inquiry. Only in recent years have newer studies incorporated miscellaneous Vietnamese perspectives that restore agency, legitimacy, and heterogeneity to non-American actors hitherto overlooked or dismissed. They also consider the war itself not as one but as multifaceted: the convergence of a civil war, a regional war, an anti-colonial war, and several simultaneous proxies for the Cold War.

This upper-level seminar seeks to expand both our temporal and geographical scope. We examine the past and present not just of Vietnam, but also of Cambodia, Laos, and, very briefly, Kouang Tchéou Wan, which together once constituted French Indochina. Although we are accustomed to thinking of nation-states as natural carriers of historical meaning, none of the countries in question existed the way we know them today even as late as the turn of the 19th century. Rather, they were defined and redefined, created and recreated, over decades of armed struggle, colonial oppression, intellectual debate, and intense negotiation. Our course considers the local and global currents that influenced these overlapping trajectories as we are guided by three major themes: imperialism, nationalism, and regionalism. On one hand, we explore how Indochina and its successor polities were entwined with such neighbors as Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, and South Korea. On the other hand, we contemplate how great powers like France, China, Japan, and — indeed — the U.S. made a lasting impact.

The class meets once per week. Each time, we start with a mini-lecture of an hour or so designed to familiarize you with relevant historical events. We then move on to discuss the assigned readings. An additional selection is there to enrich your understanding, but it is optional for everyone except the students responsible for delivering their presentation on the day. If you wish to catch up on ancient and premodern periods, consult the first eight chapters of A History of the Vietnamese (2013) by K. W. Taylor. The rest of that book covers our course’s timeframe, as does the entirety of another brilliant text, The Penguin History of Modern Vietnam (2016) by Christopher Goscha. The most accessible one-volume survey of the Vietnamese experience during the second half of the 20th century is Vietnam at War (2009) by Mark Philip Bradley. Our course has no prerequisites, although HIST 1107 — The Pacific World may be helpful. Neither are there quizzes, tests, nor exams. The assignments, listed below, gear you toward producing a polished final paper.

Assignments

  • Presentation (10%)
    Prepare a ten-minute presentation — either on your own or in collaboration with a partner — during the class to which you are allotted. For that particular week, you must complete the recommended reading, which either provides background or a different take on the same topic. Summarize key points. Look in particular for arguments, approaches, and a memorable scene or two. Explain how it connects with other texts. You might wish to also read the introduction and conclusion of the book from which a particular chapter is selected, if applicable. Contact the instructor for that should you need access. Then, for each required reading, ask one relevant question to help launch the discussion.

  • Primary-Source Analysis (15%)
    One week before the deadline, you receive a dossier of ten primary sources covering events in the 19th century. Pick any combination of three or more of them. Compare and contrast your selections to make an original argument based on your interpretation in an essay of about 1,000–1,200 words. Consider the following as you approach each one: What was the medium? Why was it produced? Whose voices were heard and unheard? How did one support or contradict another? Are there benefits and drawbacks for historians consulting it? Due in class on Feb. 12.

  • Prospectus and Bibliography (5%)
    Write a proposal of about 400–500 words describing a subject of your interest that you intend to further pursue in your final paper. It should be relevant to one aspect of colonial or postcolonial Indochina through either a global or comparative lens. Make sure you touch on the questions you wish to address, explain their significance, and list some potential places to find your research material. Then submit a preliminary bibliography containing five or more secondary sources, at least half of which must be full-length academic monographs. The rest can be journal articles and essays in collected volumes. Please plan on consulting the instructor about possible ideas beforehand, preferably during office hours: the earlier, the better. Due in class on March 18.

  • Book Review (10%)
    With your final paper in mind, report on an academic book relevant to your area of research. There is a suggested list for you, organized by themes, but you need not choose from it so long as your text is outside the syllabus’s required readings and approved by the instructor. Rather than offer a summary, identify its key arguments and situate it within a broader literature. Is it overturning conventional wisdom? Is it offering a new angle to an old problem? Or is it tackling something that has thus far been neglected? Read the American Historical Review, the Journal of Asian Studies, or other periodicals in the discipline for examples. Limit strictly to no more than 800 words. Due in class on April 15.

  • Final Paper (35%)
    Building on knowledge from the course, as well as your prospectus, bibliography, book review, and ongoing research, produce an original history paper. You must present a clear argument based on a combination of both primary and secondary sources. You are otherwise welcome to be creative with your narrative. As a general rule, aim for writing about 4,000–4,500 words, plus citations. Anything below this range is likely inadequate. On the other hand, if you anticipate something much longer — so you can turn it into a chapter of your honors thesis, a polished writing sample for graduate-school application, or even a potential published article — you are free to do so. Just discuss it ahead of time with the instructor. Due at 11:59 p.m. via Canvas on May 11.

  • Attendance and Participation (25%)
    Show up to every class. Contribute actively and respectfully to class discussions. You are allowed one unexcused absence over the course of the semester without penalty. Beyond that, please request an excused absence from the instructor before class and make it up by writing a one-page response to the class’s readings, or this portion of your final grade will be lowered.

Grading Scale

  • Excellent
    A: 93–100%; A-: 90–92%

  • Good
    B+: 87–89%; B: 83–86%; B-: 80–82%

  • Adequate
    C+: 77–79%; C: 73–76%; C-: 70–72%

  • Minimum Passing
    D+: 67–69%; D: 60–66%

Core Curriculum

  • University Undergraduate: Engaging Diversity — Global

  • School of Foreign Service: Non-Western Regional History

Required Text

Schedule

** = recommended readings

Module I: Empire-Building

Module II: Nation-Building

Module III: Total Wars

Module IV: Region-Building

A full syllabus — including additional sections on leaning goals, policies and expectations, academic integrity, accommodations, Title IX statement, Title IX pregnancy modifications and adjustments, and other resources — is posted on Georgetown 360 and available upon request. Current students should also consult MyAccess and Canvas for more information.