History 516C
U. S. FOREIGN
RELATIONS
1945 to the PRESENT
Prof. Chester Pach
Ohio University
Spring Quarter 2009
Call No. 03743
In this course, we will study U.S. involvement in world affairs since the end of World War II. Most of the readings are recent studies that illustrate the variety of different topics, approaches, and themes in the writings about U.S. involvement in world affairs. The readings will examine U.S. policies toward several different regions or nations, including those in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and East Asia. They will also allow us to engage important interpretive debates that have shaped the field of U.S. foreign relations. In addition, we will deal explicitly with questions of how one writes U.S. foreign relations history--the challenges, opportunities, and varying methodologies.
You will do four writing assignments during the quarter. The first will be a comparison of the views of Melvyn Leffler, John Gaddis, and Arnold Offner about the origins and development of the Cold War and will be due on April 9. The second will be a review of either Maria Höhn’s GIs and Fräuleins or Peter Hahn’s Caught in the Middle East and will be due on April 24. The third will be a review of the book that you chose about the U.S. and Vietnam and will be due on May 8. The final essay will be due on June 10. You will receive instructions about each of these assignments well in advance of the due dates.
The reading assignments are listed on the schedule below. In addition to the required books, we will all read several articles from Diplomatic History (abbreviated DH), the leading journal in the history of U.S. foreign relations. Each of these articles is available electronically through the Alden Library web site. There will also be one book chapter, which I will copy and distribute to you. We will all read the same books and articles, except during the week that we study U.S. involvement in Vietnam. For that class, you will choose a book from several works about the United States and Vietnam.
Because of the nature of this course, you should attend each meeting unless there is a legitimate and unavoidable reason, such as illness, for your absence. Part of the success of the course depends upon your conscientious preparation and active participation in our discussions. You should purchase the following books, which are available at the Little Professor Book Center:
Hahn, Peter L. Caught in the Middle East: U.S. Policy Toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1945-1961
Höhn, Maria, GIs and Fräuleins: The German-American Encounter in 1950s West Germany
Hixson, Walter L., The Myth of American Diplomacy: National Identity and U.S. Foreign Policy
Leffler, Melvyn P., For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War
Mann, James, The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War
Westad, Odd Arne, The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Time
University rules require me to inform you that academic misconduct, which includes plagiarism in papers, is a most serious matter. In this course, the penalties for such offenses could range from reduction of grade on an assignment or for the course to disciplinary action through the University Judiciaries leading to suspension or dismissal from the university. For further information, please consult the Graduate Catalog or the Ohio University web site on academic integrity: http://www.ohio.edu/judiciaries/integrity.cfm.
Grades will be determined as follows: 15% for each of the first three essays; 20% for the final essay; and 35% for participation in class discussion.
I will hold office hours in Bentley Annex 468 on Wednesday, 11:00 AM-1:30 PM, and by appointment. My office telephone is 593-4335. If I am not in my office, you may leave a message for me on the answering machine. You can always reach me by email at: pach@ohio.edu.
You will find an electronic version of this syllabus and of all class assignments on my home page at: http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~pach. In order to save the costs of paper and duplication during these times of financial stringency, you should use the web page to access class assignments.
Schedule of Class Meetings and Reading
Assignments
Mar. 30 Introduction
Apr. 6 Origins of the Cold War
Read: Leffler, xv-xx, 3-83; John Lewis Gaddis, The Cold War: A New History, ix-xii, 1-47 (copy to be distributed in class); Arnold A. Offner, “‘Another Such Victory’: President Truman, American Foreign Policy, and the Cold War,” DH 23 (Spring 1999): 127-55
Apr. 9 First Essay Due
Apr. 13 Americans and Germans
Read: Höhn (entire); Brian C. Etheridge, “The Desert Fox, Memory Diplomacy, and the German Question in Early Cold War America,” DH 32 (April 2008): 207-38
Apr. 20 Truman, Eisenhower, and the Middle East
Read: Hahn (entire); Leffler, 84-150; Michelle Mart, “Tough Guys and American Cold War Policy: Images of Israel, 1948-1960,” DH 20 (Summer 1996): 357-80
Apr. 24 Second Essay Due
Apr. 27 The United States and the Third World; the Cuban Missile Crisis
Read: Westad, 1-206; Leffler, 151-233; Randall B. Woods, “Conflicted Hegemon: LBJ and the Dominican Republic,” and Margaret Power, “The Engendering of Anticommunism and Fear in Chile’s 1964 Presidential Election,” both in DH 32 (November 2008): 749-66, 931-53
May 4 The United States and Vietnam
Read: “Inside LBJ’s War: A Forum on Francis Bator’s ‘No Good Choices,’” DH 32 (June 2008): 307-70 and ONE of the following: Mark Atwood Lawrence, Assuming the Burden: Europe and the American Commitment to War in Vietnam; Seth Jacobs, America’s Miracle Man in Vietnam: Ngo Dinh Diem, Religion, Race, and U.S. Intervention in Southeast Asia, 1950-1957; Larry Berman, Lyndon Johnson’s War: The Road to Stalemate in Vietnam; David F. Schmitz, The Tet Offensive: Politics, War, and Public Opinion; Melvin Small, Antiwarriors: The Vietnam War and the Battle for America’s Hearts and Minds
May 8 Third Essay Due
May 11 The Rise and Fall of Détente
Read: Westad, 207-407; Leffler, 234-337
May 18 The End of the Cold War
Read: Leffler, 338-467; Mann (entire)
May 25 No Class: Memorial Day
Jun. 1 Past and Present
Read: Hixson (entire)
Final Essay: Due on Wednesday,June 10
