SBS 381: US, Vietnam, Asia-Pacific
Analyzes the relations of the United States to Asia Pacific, especially Vietnam and the Philippines, from social, political-economy, cultural and historical perspectives. Key themes include colonization, conflicts, and resource exploitation in the Asia Pacific. Examines significant ethical concerns drawing from guest speakers, official documents, memoirs, fiction, poetry, films, photography, public and visual arts, and music.
This course was taught by two professors, Dr. Tran and Dr. Shenk. We studied Vietnamese history, culture, and traditions, and also spent a large portion of the semester focusing on the Vietnam War and labor issues in Vietnam. This class was very challenging and intensive, with many readings from the book that Dr. Tran authored: Ties that Bind (Cultural Identity, Class, and Law in Vietnam's Labor Resistance), as well as Surviving Twice: Amerasian Children of the Vietnam War. It was obvious that both Dr. Tran and Dr. Shenk were extremely passionate about Vietnam, and especially about the injustices in regard to the factory workers in there. I appreciated the amount of time that we spent on learning about the Vietnam War, as this was a subject that I heard much about, but knew very little about. At the end of the semester, we were required to do a research paper about a given topic in Vietnamese culture/history that interested us. I chose to write about the future of Vietnam's Mekong Delta fishing industry. We also had multiple visits by Vietnam veterans who live in the area, and the chance to hear their stories and ask them questions was very unique and rewarding. This class completed the requirement of MLO 4: Secondary Cultural Knowledge.