Vietnam (Is Not) 50: Extra Credit

THE “VIETNAM IS (NOT) 50” SYMPOSIUM, CELEBRATING THE 50^th ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF THE VIETNAM WAR.  Thursday, October 23^rd in the University Center, ESTEP Room

Session 1: 9:30-10:45: Historical Perspective of the Vietnam War, The War and American Politics, and the Vietnamese in Oklahoma, featuring Drs. Bean, Pappas, and Thuan Nguyen, Founder of the OKC Asian District Cultural Association

Session 2: 11:00-12:15: Vietnamese War and American Film, Vietnamese Art, and Vietnamese Music, featuring Drs. Walling, Prof. Jenn Peek, and Drs. Aguirre and Berman.

Session 3: 12:30-1:45: Performance from the ECU Band Ensemble, discussion of The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and Talk about the Controversial Documentary, Daughter of Danang, about the impact of the War, featuring Drs. McMahon and Grasso.

Session 4: 2:00-4:30 (ish)

A screening of the Vietnamese language film “Mai (2024)” a “bittersweet drama about an unlikely relationship between a massage therapist and a playboy became the highest-grossing Vietnamese film in the country’s history when it was released in 2024.”

Session 5: 7:00

A reading by Vu Tran, Vietnamese-American author of the 2015 novel “Dragonfish” (a NY Times Notable Book) and the director of undergraduate studies in creative writing at the University of Chicago.

EXTRA CREDIT RESPONSE (can count for 2 missed reading responses, can forgive 2 class absences, OR you can get 3 extra points on your final grade. BUT, you must give more than 1-2 sentences for each one—really try to respond honestly and think about your responses.)  Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: Which presentation in the session most interested you and why? How did the speaker address the question “why does it matter?” throughout their presentation, and what made you understand it? Also, how could tell why it mattered to the presenter themselves?

Q2: Rick Steves, a travel writer, notes that “Travel can help us understand that our potential enemies are not cut-and-run mercenaries, but people with spine motivated by passions and beliefs we didn’t even know existed, much less understand” (17). How did this session shed light on reasons behind the Vietnamese War OR the Vietnamese people themselves, many of whom we were once at war with? How do you now understand either one differently?

Q3: How did this presentation help you understand why history isn’t just something in a textbook, but something ‘alive’ that we still have to deal with in our daily lives? What role does history play in at least one of the presentations, and why is it so easy to miss or ignore?

Q4: How does one of the presentations remind you of (or have a conversation with) one of the readings from our class? Think about the essays, the film, and the book we’re currently reading, and consider what issues and ideas are discussed in both. Explain the connections that you saw and why reading/listening to one can help you with the other.