Assignment

One of the topics that is often overlooked in studies of the Vietnam War is the impact the war had on South Vietnamese society. Saigon was the headquarters for the American war effort and was deeply transformed by the American presence. For this project, you will read selections from Neil Jamieson's Understanding Vietnam and create an entry that assesses the impact of the war on Saigon during the 1960s. After reading his account carefully, organize your thinking and your narrative around these three topics:

1. social changes
2. economic changes
3. cultural changes

For each of these you should give a well-articulated summary of the information you can be from the Jamieson reading. Then, I would like you to spend some time searching online for (1) images and/or (2) videos that illustrate these changes or offer additional information about these three topics. Provide an explanation for each image or video of how it relates to the topic or what you can learn about Saigon in the 1960s from it.

For example, consider this well-known image of a Buddhist monk immolating himself in protest:

Or, here is a link to a youtube video: Saigon Street Scenes (Links to an external site.)

In other words, this research project will not be text only. You need to insert the most important or telling images or videos (or even audio clips) that you find into your narrative. Have fun!

Be sure to provide specific details or facts from the text to support your assertions and conclusions.