Witness the Vietnam War through the eyes of those who lived it—and those who barely survived it. This course plunges you into three searing accounts that strip away the politics and expose the raw human cost: Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, where every item a soldier carries becomes a window into fear, love, and survival; The Sorrow of War, which flips the script entirely with a North Vietnamese soldier’s graphic, unforgettable perspective; and Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam, real words from real soldiers that bring you as close to the jungle as ink on paper can take you. Forget dry historical analysis—this seminar is about feeling the weight of war, understanding how it shaped a generation, and grappling with memories that refuse to fade. Through dynamic discussions, we’ll explore what these stories reveal about humanity under fire. Come prepared to engage, to question, and to be changed by what you read. Please read in The Things They Carried FIRST the segment titled “On the Rainey River”; then read pages 3-126 for the first class.

The format of the class will be a seminar with discussion.  Preparation time will be approximately 1.5 hours a week.