The Vietnam War and Public Memory

Catalog description

Arguably America's most controversial war, Vietnam is as much a study of "fact" as "memory." This course explores the Vietnam War in American "history" and American public memory. The physiology of memory, the theoretical constructs of public memory, the role of myth in memory and the competing interests in public memory will be studied. By the end of the course, students will be able to separate fact from fiction in the historical accounts, identify the roots of various myths, analyze the factors that keep the myths alive, and explain why the myths persist despite evidence to the contrary.