HIST309

The Korean War and the First and Second Indochina Wars are some of the most significant events of the 20th century. This course will examine these wars as case studies for exploring the relationship between ideas and war. The belligerents, native peoples, and foreign powers that participated in each of these wars had conflicting assumptions, motivations, and paradigms that changed over time. Issues of post-colonialism, modernism, nationalism, Orientalism, industrialization, communism, and capitalism will be major themes of this course. In addition to standard secondary sources, students will be expected to work with primary sources, declassified government documents in particular, throughout the semester as well as in preparing the final research paper. As HIST201: Historiography is a prerequisite for this course, you will be expected to utilize the skills and analytical tools learned in that class, including an understanding of historiography, information literacy, proficiency in finding sources, ability to critically evaluate primary and secondary sources, and mastery of the Chicago Manual of Style humanities documentation standard.