The class will meet once a week in person in Mountain View in the spring semester. The topics covered will include:

• Set up for the war: where's Vietnam, why it matters, French colonization and the First Indochina War, and more
• People involved in the war, precipitating events of US involvement
• What happened in the war, part 1: early years - U.S. involvement and the role of the Cold War, Gulf of Tonkin incident and the escalation
• Reaction to the war in the United States
• What happened in the war, part 2: turning points - Tet Offensive, Nixon's Vietnamization policy
• Life in Vietnam during the war and impact of the war on Vietnamese society and culture
• How the war ended, legacy of the war

Homework includes creative and analytical assignments, and final presentation about an aspect of the war, e.g., women & Vietnam, music of the Vietnam protests, French in Vietnam, personal stories, veterans at home, etc; or more about specific people.

While the teacher will avoid graphic images and description, this is a heavy topic so please be sure your student is ready to talk about wars and their impact.

The class will be taught by Andrei Genzel, recent graduate. Andrei has taught elementary and middle school students for four years. He loves history, geography, and mythology.

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