Professor
H. Bruce Franklin Office: Hill 515
Phone:
973-353-5444 E-mail:
hbf@andromeda.rutgers.edu
Office
Hours: MON: 1-2:10 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.
Alfredo Véa, Gods
Go Begging. Plume, Penguin
paperback.
Tim O'Brien, In the
(Any edition of these books by
Greene, Ehrhart, Vea, and O'Brien is o.k., but page references in class
discussion will be to these particular editions.)
The
Vietnam War in American Stories, Songs, and Poems, edited by H. Bruce Franklin.
Reading
assignments must be completed by the following dates:
September 8 Bruce Springsteen, "Born in the
September 9 V&A: pp. 46-48; 50-52. Video: "The Roots of a War" (shown
in class)
September 14 Please use this class to clarify your view of
the history through 1953. (This will
help in your reading of The Quiet American.)
September 16 Graham Greene, The Quiet American
(1955).
September 21 V&A: pp. 65-76; 81-92.
September 23 V&A:
pp. 97-105; 113-129; 133-135; 156-160.
September 28 V&A: pp. 165-201; 205-236.
September 30 V&A:
239-254.
October 5
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 7
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 12 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
Movie:
"Only the Beginning."
October 14 In ASSP: Ward Just, "The Congressman Who Loved
Flaubert"; Mary Hazzard, from Idle and Disorderly Persons; Wayne
Karlin,"Moratorium."
October 19 V&A:
"The Decisive Year, 1968" (pp. 339‑409).
October 21 V&A:
"What Happened at
In ASSP:
The Vietnam War and American Science
Fiction; Kate Wilhelm, "The Village"; Poems by Steve Hassett.
October 26 In ASSP:
Songs (pp. 203-218); in V&A: pp.
427-437; 451-470.
November 2 W. D. Ehrhart, Passing
Time (1986).
November 4 In ASSP:
Poems by Lady Borton; Sharon Grant; Penny Kettlewell; Basil T. Paquet; Yusef
Komunyakaa; Frank A. Cross, Jr.; W. D. Ehrhart; Marilyn M. McMahon.
November 9 & November 11 Movie: Hearts and Minds (1974). (Please note that there is very little
reading due between November 2 and November 11.
This is to allow time to read In
the Lake of the Woods, a challenging novel due on November 16.)
November 11 V&A:
pp. 471‑479. Compare the NLF's
Ten Points and the
November 16 Tim O'Brien, In the
November 18 In ASSP:
Aftermaths (introduction); Stephanie
Vaughn, "Kid MacArthur."
November 23 In ASSP: 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.
November 30 Alfredo Véa, Gods Go Begging
(1999). (This is another challenging
novel. Please budget enough time to read
it thoughtfully.)
December 2 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 7 V&A:
pp. 489-494; 515-522. [On page 520,
eight lines from bottom, please make the following correction: Change “January 16, 1961” to January
16, 1991. This is crucially important
because it marks the beginning of the Iraq War.] Relate these readings to our present
situation.
December 9 Final day for submission of original essay or short story (minimum length 2,500 words). Do not leave the writing or typing of this project for the last minute. The hard copy is due in class. You must also submit a digitized copy, either on a disk or by e-mail, within 24 hours of this class meeting. This class will provide important review and preparation for the final examination.
************
This
is intended to be a challenging course.
No prior knowledge of the history is expected, but learning significant
parts of that history is essential.
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.
Learning about
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 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 (http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml)
and are familiar with its contents. The
penalty for submitting a purchased or plagiarized paper is suspension from the
University.
The
physical appearance of your work should be attractive and professional looking. It should be double-spaced throughout and
printed on one side of each page. 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 back up your work on a disk or
flash memory or online and keep a copy of your paper when you turn it in.