This summer should prove eventful with my participation in a USM sponsored trip to Vietnam. This May I will be in Vietnam as a part of a program to bring veterans of the war back to the environs of Vietnam for the first time since the cessation of hostilities. It is not often that one gets an opportunity to witness a soldier reconnect with the past, especially those of the Vietnam War. Thus if anything it is this shared experience with a veteran that really makes me eager about going to Vietnam. It would be great to construct a dissertation that adequately infuses the firsthand accounts of inviduals with the the seemingling less human aspects of diplomacy and war planing. Consequently, I hope this trip will provided me with more insight into how to better combine the memories of soldiers with the wider diplomatic and strategic military elements of the Vietnam War. Put another way, the insights of a veteran will hopefully contextualize the strategic and diplomatic repercussion that emerged from events like the Tet Offensive. As such, travel to Vietnam is, for me, like going to the archives.
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Sorry for the lack of posts during these past two months, but it has been a busy academic year. Three semesters in to the PhD program, and with one more to go, my energy has been directed towards completing the remain coursework requirements. As for progress on figuring out my dissertation topic, I am leaning towards following the approach of historians like Mark Atwood Lawrence and Eugenie M. Blang. These scholars examined the European connections to America’s Vietnam War. I hope to more fully explore the British Commonwealth’s role in the Vietnam War by incorporating Australia and Canada into a study of America’s waging of the war in Vietnam. Much like my earlier musings on the selection of a dissertation topic, I hope to have a more developed idea after I complete course and examination requirements.
As noted in my last post, the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies (LCMSDS) features some great posts from graduate students. Recently, my good friend and colleague Christine Leppard wrote of her experiences researching in London. Her insight into the workings of the British National Archives and the Imperial War Museum archive should be of great value to those embarking on their first research trip to the UK. Additionally, Christine’s experiences emphasis the importance of making the most of unforeseen situations, like the IWM’s expensive copier fees and their ban of an historians best friend, the digital camera. So be sure to read her entire article over at the LCMSDS blog.
Recently I discussed three possible dissertation topics. In the short time since that post, I have put more thought into exploring the North Vietnam’s 1968 Test Offensive from a multinational perspective. The legacy of Tet ’68 is a controversial topic in Vietnam War historiography, with orthodox scholars viewing the offensive as a significant defeat for US forces in Vietnam. Lately, I have been wondering if Australia saw Tet ’68 as a defeat, or a victory. More importantly, what role did Australian forces play in pushing back North Vietnam Army and Viet Cong troops? Ultimately I want to demonstrate the Vietnam War as conflict with global repercussions and not purely as an American war. Doing so might help place Tet ’68, and perhaps the entire Vietnam War, into a Pacific history perspective. Again, this is just the initial thought process and nothing concrete. I will write a post on Tet ’68 once I have a firmer grasp on the offensive and it’s legacy.
At some point during this semester my dissertation topic must be narrowed down into an original research project. In the most basic sense, my dissertation will deal with the relationship between the United States and Australia during the Vietnam War. Wanting to better understand how the US Army and the Australian forces in Vietnam worked together is not groundbreaking. Ideally, I would like to demonstrate that the Vietnam War was not just a US issue, but rather a conflict that tested America’s relationship with the Commonwealth, particularly Australia. As a result, I need a new angle to examine the military relations between the two Allies.
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Synopsis
The purpose of Thompson Werk is to present the musings of a US War and Society doctoral student. Discussion topics principally center around the World Wars and Vietnam.
The opinions expressed on this site are not be confused with those of my colleagues, employers, friends, family, and/or anyone else associated with me.
Contact me with any comments, complaints, and/or questions.
Comments
- Robert: Throughout Vietnamese history there are
- Chris: "Hopefully most people outside of
- Gulmira: You have more ufseul info
- Gennarino: Recurring bad dreams and the
- Robert: I’ll be happy to get
