The Impact of Culture, Ethnicity, Race and Religion in the Vietnam War

23 March - 24 March 2007
Holiday Inn Park Plaza - Lubbock, Texas

The views and opinions expressed in these papers, presentations, and videos are strictly those of the presenters and authors and do not represent The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, or the State of Texas.

Friday, March 23rd

Video

8:00 AM-9:30 AM Session 1: An Introduction to Analyzing Culture

Moderator: Stephen Maxner, PhD, Texas Tech University

  • Analyzing Vietnamese Culture: Applying the Cultural Trilogy
    James Bruton , Independent Scholar

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Video
Part 1

Part 2

10:00 AM-11:30 AM Session 2: The Impact of Religion in the US and Vietnam

Moderator: Meredith Lair, PhD, George Mason University

  • The Buddhists & Ngo Dinh Diem
    Dr. Geoffrey Shaw , American Military University

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  • Sects and Violence in Diem Era Vietnam: Overlooked Lessons for 21st Century Conflict
    Carmen Steigman MD , Independent Scholar

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  • Denominations and Vietnam: A Comparison of Foreign Policy Resolutions from Lutheran Denominations, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the United Church of Christ
    Dr. David E. Settje , Concordia University

Video

12:30 PM-1:30 PM Lunch: Guest Speaker - Dr. Larry Berman, the University of California, Davis

    Video

    1:45 PM-3:00 PM Session 3: The Impact of Antiwar Activities on American Culture

    Moderator: Laura Calkins, PhD, Texas Tech University

    • 'Lest We Forget': Reactions to the Jackson State College Shootings of 1970
      Jack Lorenzini , University of Memphis

    • Experiences and Recollections from Oral History Interviews
      Dr. Richard B. Verrone , Texas Tech University

    Video

    3:30 PM-5:00 PM Session 4: Visions of Vietnam: Democracy, Heroes, and the Role of Women in Society

    Moderator: Stephen Maxner, PhD, Texas Tech University

    • Democracy in action, with American Influence: The 1970 Senatorial Elections in South Vietnam and the Opinions and Behavior of Voters
      Ta Van Tai , Harvard Law School

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    • The Role of Myth and Heroism in the Vietnam Wars, 1945-1975
      Tien The Nguyen

    • The Ao Dai vs. the Miniskirt: Images of Vietnamese Women in the American War with Vietnam
      Heather Stur

    Video

    8:00 PM-9:00 PM Banquet: Guest Speaker - Keith Taylor, PhD, Cornell University: Collateral Cultures: Wartime Congruencies, Differences, and Indifferences

      Saturday, March 24th

      Video
      Part 1

      Part 2

      8:30 AM-10:00 AM Session 5: Soldiers' Experiences In-Country

      Moderator: Ron Milam, PhD, Texas Tech University

      • 'The Addicted Army': Drug Use in Vietnam in Historical Perspective
        Dr. Jeremy Kuzmarov , Bucknell University

      • Armed with Abundance: Soldiering in the Vietnam War Zone
        Dr. Meredith H. Lair , George Mason University

      • Outsourcing a War: What you get for your Mercenary Dollar
        Gerald Waite , Ball State University

      Video
      Part 1

      Part 2

      10:30 AM-12:00 PM Session 6: Race and Class in the American Military

      Moderator: Justin Hart, PhD, Texas Tech University

      • Overcoming More than Gravity: Reflections of an African American Helicopter Pilot's Vietnam Experience
        Eddie Randle , Vietnam Veteran

      • Skin Color and Blood Color: African Americans in Vietnam Combat Roles
        Dr. Ron Miliam , Texas Tech University

      • Playing the Race Card: Vietnamese Appeals to Non-White Forces of Occupation, 1945-1975
        Dr. Marc Jason Gilbert , Hawaii Pacific University

      Video

      12:45 PM-1:30 PM Lunch: Guest Speaker - Mr. Charles Long: An American Missionary in Vietnam, 1958-1974

        Video

        2:00 PM-3:00 PM Session 7: Minority Culture

        Moderator: Richard Verrone, PhD, Texas Tech University

        • Ethnic Minority Policies of the GVN and NLF: Promises and Practices
          Dr. Neil H. Olsen , University of Utah

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        • Jarai Culture in Vietnam in the Aftermath of War
          Lap Minh Siu , Texas Tech University

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        Video

        3:30 PM-5:00 PM Session 8: Culture as Reflected in the Literature of War and in Postwar Vietnam

        Moderator: Marc Jason Gilbert, PhD, Hawaii Pacific University

        • Leading the 'Global March' to Communism: The Viet Conf in Tran Van Dinh's Blue Dragon, White Tiger
          Quan Manh Ha , Texas Tech University

        • a review of Vietnam and Other American Fantasies by H. Bruce Franklin
          Dr. Samuel B. Hoff , Delaware State University

        • Post 1975 Vietnamese Culture: The Triumphant South
          Dr, Nguyen Ngoc Bich , Independent Scholar