VIETNAM WAR AND AMERICAN LITERATURE (352:350)

Professor H. Bruce Franklin Office: Hill 515
Phone: 973-353-5279 ext. 515 E-mail: hbf@andromeda.rutgers.edu
Office Hours: MON: 4-5 PM; WED: 2:30-3:30; and by appointment
Home page: http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~hbf

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Vietnam and America, edited by Marvin Gettleman, Jane Franklin, Marilyn Young, and H. Bruce Franklin. Grove Press, 1995. (Abbreviated as V&A.)  Note: Do not use any earlier edition of this book because it will not contain all the assigned material.

Graham Greene, The Quiet American. Penguin paperback.

W. D. Ehrhart, Passing Time. University of Massachusetts Press paperback.

Robert Stone, Dog Soldiers. Mariner paperback.

Tim O'Brien, In the Lake of the Woods. Penguin paperback.

Reading assignments must be completed by the following dates:

September 8  Bruce Springsteen, "Born in the U.S.A." In V&A: pp. xiii-xv; 3-8; 15-28; 31-40. Poems of Ho Chi Minh (to be distributed).

September 13 V&A: pp. 46-48; 50-52; 65-76; 81-96.

September 15 Video: "The Roots of a War"

September 20 Graham Greene, The Quiet American (1955).

September 22 V&A: pp. 97-105; 113-129; 133-135; 156-160.

September 27 V&A: pp. 165-201; 205-236.

September 29 V&A: 239-254.

October 4 In ASSP: INTRODUCTION; FICTION; Inside the War; Michael Paul McCusker, "The Old Man"; Larry Rottmann, "Thi Bong Dzu"; David Huddle, "The Interrogation of the Prisoner Bung by Mister Hawkins and Sergeant Tree"; Tim O'Brien, "The Man I Killed."

October 6 In ASSP: Introduction to Poems; poems by Jan Barry, Richard M. Mishler, Stan Platke, Dale Ritterbusch, "Search and Destroy"; Larry Rottmann, "APO 96225," "For Cissy Shellabarger, R.N. Wherever You Are," and "What Kind of War?" (Poetry assignments in ASSP refer to all the poems by the designated author unless specific poems are listed.)

October 11 V&A: "The Movement Against the War" (pp. 295-335). In ASSP: poems by June Jordan; Denise Levertov; Pedro Pietri; Luis Omar Salinas; Horace Coleman, "OK Corral East/Brothers in the Nam."
    Movie: "Only the Beginning."

October 13 In ASSP: Ward Just, "The Congressman Who Loved Flaubert"; Mary Hazzard, from Idle and Disorderly Persons; Wayne Karlin,"Moratorium."

October 18 V&A: "The Decisive Year, 1968" (pp. 339-409).

October 20 V&A: "What Happened at My Lai?" (pp. 410-424).

In ASSP: The Vietnam War and American Science Fiction; Kate Wilhelm, "The Village"; Poems by Steve Hassett.

October 25 In ASSP: Songs (pp. 205-220); in V&A: pp. 427-437; 451-470.

November 1 W. D. Ehrhart, Passing Time (1986).

November 3 In ASSP: Poems by Lady Borton; Sharon Grant; Penny Kettlewell; Basil T. Paquet; Yusef Komunyakaa; Frank A. Cross, Jr.; W. D. Ehrhart.

November 8 & November 10 Movie: Hearts and Minds (1974).

November 10 Robert Stone, Dog Soldiers (1974). Note that this novel was published the same year as the release of Hearts and Minds, the year after the Paris Peace Accords and the year before the fall of Saigon.

November 15 In ASSP: George Davis, "Ben"; poems by Marilyn M. McMahon.

November 17 V&A: pp. 471-479. Compare the NLF's Ten Points and the U.S. Eight Points (pp. 430-434) with the Paris Peace Accords (471-479) Which side got the other to accept what it was fighting for?

November 22 V&A: pp. 487-488; 500-515. In ASSP: Larry Rottmann, "The Bones of an American M.I.A. Speak to the Members of the Joint Casualty Resolution Team"; Dale Ritterbusch, "At the Crash Site of a B-52: January 1994."

November 29 V&A: pp. 489-494; 515-522. In ASSP: Aftermaths (introduction); Stephanie Vaughn, "Kid MacArthur"; Ronald Anthony Cross, "The Heavenly Blue Answer"; Lewis Shiner, "The War at Home"; poems by John Balaban; Ron Carter; Joan A. Furey; Janice Mirikitani; Linda Van Devanter; Bruce Weigl.

December 1 By this time, your essay or story should be well under way. Part of the class this day will be devoted to providing help on your writing project.

December 6 Tim O'Brien, In the Lake of the Woods (1994).

December 8 Part of this class will begin review for the final.

December 13 Final day for submission of original essay or short story (minimum length 2,500 words).

There will be several brief tests on the reading, given without prior announcement. Students are responsible for keeping up with the reading schedule. Missed tests will count as zero unless the absence is excused; please submit written requests for excused absences. There will be a final examination but no mid-term.

In determining the grade for the course, approximately equal weight will be given to (1) the brief tests, (2) the short story or essay, and (3) the final examination. In addition, each student's work will be evaluated on overall performance, with attention given to attendance, participation in discussion, and the level of knowledge and understanding ultimately reached.

Instructions for Writing Project

The essay or short story you are writing for this course is an opportunity for an original, valuable achievement. Think of it as something you are preparing for publication. That is, you are addressing an audience of reasonably intelligent strangers whom you must entice to read your work and who will have a valuable experience reading it. Most questions about form and content can be answered easily if you put yourself in your readers' shoes. The essay or story should contribute to your readers' understanding of some aspect of the subject matter of the course.

If you choose to write an essay, please avoid the boring "term paper" mode and do not just regurgitate what's already available in books, magazines, or web sites. Many of the most interesting essays done in previous years were personal essays, based on the authors' own experience--sometimes quite disturbing--as they encountered facts and ideas presented in the course. Doing interviews or a survey can also provide valuable material for an essay. Or you might explore some area in which you already have some expertise (such as rock music, movies, a particular TV show, etc.).

If you choose to write a story, this should also be based on your own research, knowledge, and experience. Some of the finest stories done in previous years used a point-of-view character quite similar to the author. Study the techniques and methods used in short stories that you find effective. Remember that you need to develop believable characters and scenes in order to get your readers to experience your fictional world. Short stories usually consist of very few scenes, sometimes only one, developed in detail.

The minimum length is 2,500 words. If you are having difficulty reaching this length, you can be sure there is some problem in your conception and development of your essay or story. There is no maximum length.

On proper use and acknowledgement of sources, be sure you have a copy of the Rutgers Policy on Academic Integrity and are familiar with its contents, especially the sections on Level 2 and Level 3 violations.

The physical appearance of your work should be attractive and professional looking. It must be typed or printed from a computer (double-spaced throughout). The print should be very black (not gray and faded) and pleasant to read. There is no adequate excuse for frequent errors in spelling, punctuation, or grammar. So allow yourself ample time for proofreading. Late papers will be penalized unless there is a medical or other emergency. Be sure to keep a copy of your paper when you turn it in.