Monuments and memory-making : the debate over the vietnam veterans memorial, 1981-1982.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Livingstone, M. Rebecca.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Monuments--United States.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975.

War memorials--Social aspects--United States.

War memorials.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Public opinion.

Collective memory--United States.

Collective memory.

Monuments.

Public opinion.

United States.

Physical Description:

120 pages : illustrations, map ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill, NC : The University of North Carolina Press, 2023.

Summary:

Monuments and Memory-Making immerses students in the conversations and controversies that emerged as the nation grappled with how best to memorialize what was at the time the longest military conflict in US history. As students engage in the historical process of memory-making, they will work to reconcile the varied and often contradictory voices that rose up after the fall of Saigon. Students will tackle questions such as How do we create a national memory of the past? How do we reckon with a war that was widely understood as a defeat for the United States? How do we remember the dead while honoring the living? How do we reunite a fractured nation? How do public opinion and public consciousness shape our understanding of the past, and whose voices are privileged over others? Working with primary and secondary sources, students will take command of the subject matter as they immerse themselves in their individual roles as historical actors in the debate of how best to remember and honor American participation and sacrifice in the Vietnam War.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction

Brief Overview of the Game

Prologue: The Washington Mall, May 1981

Basic Features of Reacting to the Past

Game Setup

Game Play

Game Requirements

Controversy

Counterfactuals

Sensitivity to Subject Matter

2. Historical Background

Chronology

History and Memory

The Vietnam War

Conflict Abroad

A Strategy of Containment

In-Country

Reactions at Home

The Push for Memorialization

A Clash of Identity Politics

The Age of Reagan

3. The Game

Major Issues for Debate

Rules and Procedures

Objectives and Victory Conditions

The Setting

Sequence of Play

Commission Meetings

Meeting Procedure

Voting

The Public Opinion Index

Media Coverage

Schedule for the Game

Outline of Assignments and Duties

Outside Research Requirements

4. Factions and Roles

Factions

Roles

Brief Outline of Each Role

5. Core Texts

Section 1 Vietnam and Its Aftermath

John F. Kennedy, Remarks at the Conference on Vietnam Luncheon in the Hotel Willard, Washington, DC, June 1, 1956

Lyndon Johnson, Address at John Hopkins University: "Peace without Conquest," April 7, 1965

Robert F. Kennedy, Address at Book and Author Luncheon, Chicago, Ill., February 8, 1968

Richard Nixon, "Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam, November 3, 1969"

Shirley Chisholm, Speech to the House of Representatives, October 14, 1969

John Kerry, Address to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, April 23, 1971

Gerald R. Ford, "Remarks to the Tulane University Student Body, April 23, 1975"

Section 2 The Legacy of Vietnam

Veterans Administration of the United States, Myths and Realities: A Study of Attitudes toward Vietnam-Era Veterans, 1980

Republican Presidential Candidate Ronald Reagan, Address to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Chicago, August 18, 1980

Section 3 Designing a Memorial

Senate and House of Representatives, Joint Resolution, July 1, 1980

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Design Competition Pamphlet

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, A Description of the Design Concept, June 5, 1981

Robert Dubek, Paul Spreiregen, and Maya Lin, Testimony before the Commission of Fine Arts, July 7, 1981

Paul Stevenson Oles, Artistic Renderings of Maya Lin's Design

Maya Lin: In Her Own Words

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, "Facts about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial"

Section 4 Design Controversy

Scott Brewer, Statement Delivered before the Commission of Fine Arts, Washington, DC, July 7, 1981

Philip M. Crane et al., Letter to James Watt, Secretary of the Interior, November 20, 1981

Paul D. Spreiregen, Letter to Tim Ward

Milton R. Copulos, The Heritage Foundation Report on the Vietnam Memorial, December 7, 1981

Grady Clay, Letter to James G. Watt, December 1, 1981.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 109-110)

ISBN:

1469673894

9781469673899

OCLC:

1346216081

Publisher Number:

99993085226