306F Spring 2026 Doing History: The U.S. Experience in Vietnam

306F  Doing History: The U.S. Experience in Vietnam
Eight sessions
Instructors: Jim Robinson, Tom Brannan, Wes Boutchard
Thursdays, 2:15—3:40, Mar. 26—May 14
Political division, social unrest, and military sacrifice marked the period of the United States’ involvement in the conflict in Vietnam. The legacies of this conflict continue to resonate today. This course will examine the roots of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, U.S. military strategy, and the Vietnamese perspective on the conflict. The class will also explore the antiwar movement, media coverage, the Paris Peace Accords, the fall of South Vietnam, and the war’s aftermath. As we cover these topics, you will take on the role of historians.
Jim Robinson holds a BA in History from Gettysburg College. He taught history and government for 27 years at George C. Marshall HS, including many years in the IB program focusing on advanced skills such as document analysis and evaluation of multiple historians' viewpoints. 
Tom Brannan taught history at George C. Marshall HS for 16 years. He holds a BA in Political Science from Catholic University and a Master’s in Public Administration from GMU. He served as assistant city manager in Alexandria, VA, before obtaining his teacher certification. From 1969 until February 1973, Tom served in the US Navy with Cold War assignments that included duty aboard the USS Hammerburg which tracked Soviet submarines in the Mediterranean Sea.
Wes Boutchard was a press photographer from 1969 to 1971 at the large antiwar demonstrations in Washington D.C. He was almost drafted in 1972. In 1973, he was a deckhand on a Great Lakes ore carrier, and several of his shipmates were Vietnam vets. In his first year of teaching, he guided his students (whose fathers were Vietnam vets) through a month-long exploration of the conflict and taught about Vietnam for the next 31 years.