Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module students should be able to:
- Discuss the meaning of the 'Vietnam Syndrome' and analyse its origins
- Define the central arguments concerning American failure in Vietnam and the effect this failure has had on US culture, society and politics, particularly foreign policy
- Discuss the historical development of the 'Vietnam Syndrome' since c. 1975
- Critically assess the enormous impact of the Vietnam War on American foreign policymakers
- Demonstrate, through written work and in seminars, an ability to apply this framework of analysis to the concept of US foreign intervention and non-intervention in the post- Vietnam environment
- Demonstrate an understanding of how policymakers and those in the media use the Vietnam War to appeal to the domestic audience within the United States.
Brief description
This module will provide students with a framework in which to view post-1975 US foreign policymaking and particularly intervention by analysing the effect the Vietnam War has had on American politics.
Content
- Understanding the Vietnam War and 'Vietnam Syndrome' - debates and discourses
- The end of the Vietnam War and its impact on American culture, politics and society
- Intervention under Reagan
- Cold War and post-Cold War intervention case studies
- 11 September 2001 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - The End of the Vietnam Syndrome?