Conference Call for Papers and Panels
“1973:  The Paris Peace Accords and the Allied Withdrawal from South Vietnam”

March 2-4, 2023, Lubbock, Texas

The Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive and Institute for Peace & Conflict at Texas Tech University are pleased to announce a Vietnam War conference focused on the year 1973. This conference will approach a wide range of historical events and topics by hosting presenters who examine diplomatic, military, international, regional, social, cultural, and domestic aspects of the Vietnam War. We also seek presentations that reflect the recent and emerging scholarship on the policies, strategies, and decisions of the military, political, and diplomatic leaders of all nations involved as they sought to bring a successful conclusion to the war.

Militarily, the warfighting efforts of North Vietnam waned temporarily following the Easter Offensive and Christmas bombing of 1972, taking a much-needed respite so they could recover, resupply, and redeploy additional forces in preparation for the next phase of the war. As the U.S. and other allies withdrew forces, the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam shouldered operational command and responsibility for defending South Vietnam. While agreeing to withdraw from Vietnam, the U.S. increased the air war over Cambodia in an ill-fated attempt to support General Lon Nol and to keep Phnom Penh from falling to the communist Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot. Operation Homecoming resulted in the return of U.S. prisoners-of-war while the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps demined Hai Phong Harbor and coastal North Vietnam. Diplomatically, Henry Kissinger traveled to Hanoi to discuss establishing diplomatic relations between the U.S. and North Vietnam while the International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICCS) was established to supervise the implementation of the peace accords. Domestically, the U.S. Congress made plans to slash U.S. military and economic assistance to South Vietnam in half while the American people and Nixon administration became preoccupied with the Watergate scandal.

This conference seeks to explore all such topics, both as discreet areas of interest as well as interconnected aspects of the larger events. We want to continue examining the issues related to what brought the various parties to 1973 and what happened in its aftermath. We encourage presentations that examine other topics such as the social and religious aspects of the war, the effect of journalism and reporting, and the efforts to end the conflict through international diplomacy. We desire an international perspective and seek presentations that reflect the perspectives of all participants, including the U.S., RVN, DRV, NLF, Cambodia, Laos, China, the Soviet Union, and all other nations involved.

This conference will be hosted in Lubbock, Texas. Conference organizers welcome individual proposals as well as pre-organized panel proposals that include a moderator and three individual presentations. Conference sessions will follow the standard 90-minute format to include 60 minutes for presentations (20 minutes/presentation) followed by 30 minutes for questions/discussion. Presentations by veterans are especially encouraged, as are presentations by graduate students. Graduate student travel grants might also be made available for select students. All presentations will be video recorded and made publicly available after the conference via the Vietnam Center & Archive website. Select papers may also be published.

Proposal submission deadline is January 15, 2022.

Please submit a 250-word abstract and separate two-page CV/resume to VietnamConference.TTU@gmail.com. If submitting a panel proposal, please include separate abstracts for each proposed presentation and short CVs/resumes for each speaker.

Thank you for your interest in participating in this conference.

April 30 @ Silent Wings Museum, Lubbock

The Vietnam Center and Archive at Texas Tech will be there all day with era items — please stop by and say hello!

SILENT WINGS MUSEUM | 6202 N. I-27 | LUBBOCK, TEXAS

7:00 5K Fun Run/Walk | Team Red, White & Blue
9:00 Color Guard & Opening Ceremony
9:15 Keynote Address | Dr. Rodney Gonzalez,
Medical Center Director, Amarillo VA Health Care System

9:30 Veteran Resource Fair | Veterans Services and Community Organizations
Car Show | Caprock Classic Car Club
Kid’s Activities

10:00 Live Music | Makenzie Patton | Spur 327
11:00 Motorcycle Poker Run | Veterans of Wars
11:30 Lunch | Lubbock National Bank, Sonic, Bahama Bucks
1-3:00 ROTC Drill Competitions | Car Show | Kid’s Activities

Conference Call for Papers and Panels
“1972: The War Between North and South Vietnam”

April 1-2, 2022, Orange, California

The Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive and Institute for Peace & Conflict at Texas Tech University, and the War and Society Program at Chapman University, are pleased to announce a Vietnam War conference focused on the year 1972. This conference will approach a wide range of historical events and topics by hosting presenters who examine diplomatic, military, international, regional, social, cultural, and domestic aspects of the Vietnam War. We also seek presentations that reflect the recent and emerging scholarship on the policies, strategies, and decisions of the military, political, and diplomatic leaders of all nations involved as they sought to bring a successful conclusion to the war.

Militarily, the war effort of North Vietnam peaked with the launch of the Easter Offensive, their largest attack into South Vietnam since the beginning of the war. As the U.S. continued withdrawing American forces, the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam shouldered increased operational command and responsibility for defending South Vietnam, while receiving air and logistical support from the U.S. Diplomatically, as the fighting escalated throughout the year, U.S. and Vietnamese diplomats continued their discussions to establish a peace agreement in Paris. As North Vietnam persisted with their “talk-fight” strategy, the U.S. continued a strategy of “progressive squeeze and talk” and strategic bombing. Domestically, the escalation of military operations in 1972 resulted in continued domestic discord and antiwar protest within the U.S. A presidential election year with the Watergate scandal unfolding the Nixon administration sought to maintain popular support among the “silent majority” through a show of American strength in the face of North Vietnamese aggression. Internationally, the initial success of Nixon’s Cold War diplomacy near year’s end started to reduce international tensions and initiated the slow process of challenging widely held perceptions of monolithic international communism.

This conference seeks to explore all such topics, both as discreet areas of interest as well as interconnected aspects of the larger events. We also want to continue examining the issues related to what brought the various parties to 1972 and what happened in its aftermath. We encourage presentations that examine other topics such as the social and religious aspects of the war, the effect of journalism and reporting on the war, and the efforts to end the conflict through international diplomacy. We want an international perspective covered and seek presentations that reflect the perspectives of all participants, including those of the US, RVN, DRV, NLF, and all other nations involved.

This two-day event will be hosted in Orange, California. Conference organizers welcome individual proposals as well as pre-organized panel proposals that include a moderator and three individual presentations. Conference sessions will follow the standard 90-minute format to include 60 minutes for presentations (20 minutes/presentation) followed by 30 minutes for questions/discussion. Presentations by veterans are especially encouraged, as are presentations by graduate students. Graduate student travel grants might also be made available for select students. All presentations will be video recorded and made publicly available after the conference via the Vietnam Center & Archive website. Select papers may also be published.

Proposal submission deadline is November 1, 2021.

Please submit a 250-word abstract and separate two-page CV/resume to VietnamConference.TTU@gmail.com. If submitting a panel proposal, please include separate abstracts for each proposed presentation and short CVs/resumes for each speaker.

Thank you for your interest in participating in this conference.

Conference Call for Papers and Panels
“1970-1971:  Nixon, Discord, and the US Withdrawal from Vietnam” 

April 8-10, 2021, Lubbock, Texas 

(At this time, this conference will be a hybrid event featuring both in-person and remote presentations) 

The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive (VNCA) and the Institute for Peace & Conflict (IPAC) at Texas Tech University are pleased to announce a Vietnam War conference focused on the years 1970 and 1971. This conference will approach a wide range of historical events and topics by hosting presenters who examine diplomatic, military, international, regional, and domestic aspects of the Vietnam War. We also seek presentations that reflect the recent and emerging scholarship on the policies, strategies, and decisions of President Nixon, General Abrams, and their advisors and deputies as they sought to bring about a successful conclusion to the Vietnam War. At the same time, 1970 and 1971 were years of major domestic discord inside the United States, including the shootings at Kent State University, the Hard Hat Riot in New York City, the Mayday Action in 1971, among various antiwar and anti-draft protests. Additional areas of interest include major combat operations such as the Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord as well as the political, strategic, and tactical decision-making to expand the war into Cambodia with the Cambodian Incursion and into Laos with Operation Tailwind and Lam Son 719. We also encourage presentations that examine the social and religious aspects of the war, the effect of journalism and reporting on the war, and the efforts to end the conflict through international diplomacy.  We seek presentations that reflect the perspectives of all participants, including those of the US, RVN, DRV, NLF, and all other nations involved. 

This two-day conference will be hosted in Lubbock, Texas, and will be conducted in a hybrid format featuring both in-person and remote presentations. Conference organizers welcome both individual presentation proposals as well as pre-organized panel proposals that include a moderator/commentator and three individual presentations. Conference sessions will follow the standard 90-minute format to include 60 minutes for presentations (20 minutes per presentation) followed by 30 minutes for commentary, questions, and discussion. Presentations by veterans are especially encouraged, as are presentations by graduate students. All presentations will be video recorded and made publicly available after the conference via the Vietnam Center and Archive website. Select papers may also be published in a collection by the TTU Press or other entity. 

Proposal submission deadline is February 1, 2021. 

For presenters who submitted proposals accepted for the cancelled April 2020 conference, if you wish to present at the April 2021 conference, your previous paper submissions will be reviewed as submitted and accepted on a case-by-case basis. Please send a notification of your interest to participate using your previous submission to VietnamConference.TTU@gmail.com. 

For new paper/panel submissions, please submit a 250-word abstract and separate two-page CV/resume to VietnamConference.TTU@gmail.com. If submitting a panel proposal, please include separate abstracts for each proposed presentation and short CVs/resumes for each speaker. 

For all submissions, please include your preference for making an in-person or remote presentation. 

Thank you for your interest in participating in this conference. 

The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive
invites you to join us as we celebrate

-Tet –
The Vietnamese New Year

Thursday, January 30, 2020
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
The International Cultural Center
Hall of Nations
Texas Tech University

The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive cordially invites you to join us as we celebrate Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, on Thursday, January 30, 2020. Please come sample delicious Vietnamese cuisine and learn more about the rich heritage and culture that makes Vietnam so remarkable.

In Vietnam, one of 12 animals of the zodiac represents each year and 2020 ushers in the Lunar Year of the Rat. The Rat plays an important role in everyday life in Vietnam and people born in the Year of the Rat are said to be intelligent, charming, creative, generous, and meticulous.
The Vietnamese people regard Tet as their most cherished holiday and it is a time to celebrate family and friends. We hope you will be able to join us!
at Texas Tech University

For more information, please visit
www.vietnam.ttu.edu or call 742-9010

Conference Call for Papers and Panels
“1970:  Nixon and Discord during the Vietnam War”

April 9-11, 2020, Lubbock, Texas

The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive (VNCA) and the Institute for Peace & Conflict (IPAC) at Texas Tech University are pleased to announce a conference focused on the year 1970. We expect in this conference to approach a wide range of historical events and topics by hosting presenters who examine diplomatic, military, international, regional, and domestic aspects of the Vietnam War. We also seek presentations that reflect the recent and emerging scholarship on the policies, strategies, and decisions of President Nixon, General Abrams, and their advisors and deputies as they sought to bring about a successful conclusion to the Vietnam War. At the same time, 1970 was a year of major domestic discord inside the United States, including the shootings at Kent State University, the Hard Hat Riot in New York City, among various antiwar and anti-draft protests. Additional areas of interest include major combat operations such as the Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord, as well as the political, strategic, and tactical decision-making to expand the war into Cambodia with the Cambodian Incursion and into Laos with Operation Tailwind. We also encourage presentations that examine the social and religious aspects of the war, the effect of journalism and reporting on the war, and the efforts to end the conflict through international diplomacy.  We seek presentations that reflect the perspectives of all participants, including those of the US, RVN, DRV, NLF, and all other nations involved.

This two-day conference will be hosted in Lubbock, Texas. Conference organizers welcome both individual presentation proposals as well as pre-organized panel proposals that include a moderator/commentator and three individual presentations. Conference sessions will follow the standard 90-minute format to include 60 minutes for presentations (20 minutes per presentation) followed by 30 minutes for commentary, questions, and discussion. Presentations by veterans are especially encouraged, as are presentations by graduate students. Graduate student travel honoraria will be competitive and made available to select students. All presentations will be video recorded and made publicly available after the conference via the Vietnam Center and Archive website. Select papers may also be published in a collection by the TTU Press or other entity.

Proposal submission deadline is February 15, 2020. Please submit a 250-word abstract and separate two-page CV/resume to VietnamConference.TTU@gmail.com. The program committee of Ron Milam, Steve Maxner, Justin Hart, Dave Lewis, and Laura Calkins will evaluate all paper proposals and develop a program that reflects the many remarkable aspects of 1970. If submitting a panel proposal, please include separate abstracts for each proposed presentation and CVs/resumes for each speaker.

Thank you for your interest in participating in this conference.

Please join the Vietnam Center and Archive
as we celebrate…
Tuesday, February 5
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
The International Cultural Center
Hall of Nations
Texas Tech University

The Vietnam Center and Archive cordially invites you to join us as we celebrate Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, on Tuesday, February 5, 2019. Please come sample delicious Vietnamese cuisine and learn more about the rich heritage and culture that makes Vietnam so remarkable.
In Vietnam, one of 12 animals of the zodiac represents each year and 2019 ushers in the Lunar Year of the Pig. The Pig plays an important role in everyday life in Vietnam and people born in the Year of the Pig are said to be gentle, sincere, honest, loyal, hard-working, and trusting. The Vietnamese people regard Tet as their most cherished holiday and it is a time to celebrate family and friends.We hope you will be able to join us!

For more information, please visit
www.vietnam.ttu.edu or call 742-9010

Conference Call for Papers and Panels
“1969:  Vietnamization and the Year of Transition in the Vietnam War”

April 25-27, 2019, Lubbock, Texas

The Vietnam Center and Archive (VNCA) and the Institute for Peace & Conflict (IPAC) at Texas Tech University are pleased to announce a conference focused on the year 1969. We expect in this conference to approach a wide range of historical events and topics by hosting presenters who examine diplomatic, military, international, regional, and domestic aspects of the Vietnam War. We also seek presentations that reflect the recent and emerging scholarship on the transition of leadership from Johnson to Nixon and from Westmoreland to Abrams in challenging and complicating existing interpretations of them and their policies. We are also particularly interested in papers that address the concepts of “Vietnamization” and the shift toward “pacification.” We seek presentations that reflect all participants and perspectives, including those of the US, RVN, DRV, NLF, and other nations involved. Additional areas of interest include the strategic and tactical decision-making to expand the war into Cambodia with OPERATION MENU. We also encourage presentations that examine the social and religious aspects of the war, the antiwar and peace movements at home and abroad, the effect of journalism and reporting on the war, and the efforts to end the conflict through international diplomacy and military and diplomatic means in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

This two-day conference will be hosted in Lubbock, Texas. Conference organizers welcome both individual presentation proposals as well as pre-organized panel proposals that include a moderator/commentator and three individual presentations. Conference sessions will follow the standard 90-minute format to include 60 minutes for presentations (20 minutes per presentation) followed by 30 minutes for commentary, questions, and discussion. Presentations by veterans are especially encouraged as are presentations by graduate students. Graduate student travel grants will be made available to select students. All presentations will be video recorded and made publicly available after the conference via the Vietnam Center and Archive website. Select papers may also be published in a collection by the TTU Press.

Proposal submission deadline is February 15, 2019. Please submit a 250-word abstract and separate two-page CV/resume to VietnamConference.TTU@gmail.com. The program committee of Ron Milam, Steve Maxner, Justin Hart, Dave Lewis, and Laura Calkins will evaluate all paper proposals and develop a program that reflects the many remarkable aspects of 1969. If submitting a panel proposal, please include separate abstracts for each proposed presentation and CVs/resumes for each speaker.

Thank you for your interest in participating in this conference.

Please join the Vietnam Center and Archive as we celebrate…

– Tet –
The Vietnamese New Year

Friday, February 16
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
The International Cultural Center
Hall of Nations
Texas Tech University

The Vietnam Center and Archive cordially invites you to join us as we celebrate Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, on Friday, February 16, 2018. Please come sample delicious Vietnamese cuisine and learn more about the rich heritage and culture that makes Vietnam so remarkable.  In Vietnam, one of 12 animals of the zodiac represents each year and 2018 ushers in the Lunar Year of the Dog. The Dog plays an important role in everyday life in Vietnam and people born in the Year of the Dog are said to be honest, just, energetic, popular, and loyal.  The Vietnamese people regard Tet as their most cherished holiday and it is a time to celebrate family and friends.We hope you will be able to join us!

For more information, please visit
www.vietnam.ttu.edu or call 742-9010

Conference Call for Papers and Panels

“1968 and the Tet Offensive”

April 28-29, 2017, Lubbock Texas

The Vietnam Center and Archive (VNCA) and the Institute for Peace & Conflict (IPAC) at Texas Tech University are pleased to announce a conference focused on the year 1968 and the Tet Offensive. We expect in this conference to approach these historical events in the broadest possible manner by hosting presenters who examine diplomatic, military, international regional, and domestic aspects of the Vietnam War during that year, as well as the strategic and tactical decision-making and actions that led up to and followed the Tet Offensive. This will include presentations that look at all participants to include the US, RVN, DRV, NLF, and the numerous allies and other nations involved. We will also strongly encourage presentations that examine the antiwar and peace movements at home and abroad, the efforts to support the war effort, and the efforts to end the conflict through international diplomacy, as well as military and diplomatic means in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Recent and emerging scholarship on the Tet Offensive and on 1968, more broadly, is refocusing much needed attention on some of the pivotal events that took place during that fateful year. In late November 1967, General William Westmoreland publicly conveyed his optimism regarding eventual US victory in Vietnam, helping President Johnson to buoy flagging US popular and political support for the war effort. In the aftermath of the Tet Offensive, as fighting broke out in every major city throughout the entirety of South Vietnam, many started to doubt the veracity of those previous claims, including prominent politicians and members of the American media. Attention within the US came to focus on some of the more brutal battles that emerged as US Marines fought to retake Vietnam’s ancient Imperial city in the Battle for Hue and they came under heavy fire during in the Siege of Khe Sanh. As the fighting intensified in Vietnam, so it did in the streets and on campuses across America, as critics of the war continued their calls for an immediate US withdrawal and an end to the war. So powerful was the effect of these events that on March 31, President Johnson announced that he would not seek reelection – adding to the leadership changes already in play with the departure of Robert McNamara as Secretary of Defense in late February and the emergence of General Creighton Abrams and departure of General Westmoreland as commander of US forces in Vietnam in June. The violence that year included some of the most horrific wartime atrocities committed against civilians in Vietnam, including the Hue Massacre and the My Lai Massacre, while violence in the US claimed the lives of nationally prominent figures, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy. The presidential election that year witnessed last-minute attempts by the Johnson administration to end the war in Vietnam sabotaged by the Nixon campaign. By the end of 1968, approximately 550,000 Americans engaged in more than 200 major combat operations, dropped more than 500,000 tons of bombs, and the overall financial costs of the war for that year alone totaled approximately $20 Billion. 1968 resulted in the highest numbers of casualties in a single year with more than 16,000 Americans and approximately 100,000 Vietnamese killed on all sides. All the while, the North Vietnamese and NLF fought on. With a new president and leadership team preparing to take over in January of 1969, innumerable questions remained as to whether a US victory could be achieved in Vietnam.

This two-day conference will be hosted at the MCM Elegante Hotel and Suites in Lubbock, Texas. Conference organizers welcome both individual presentation proposals as well as pre-organized panel proposals that include a moderator/commentator and three individual presentations. Conference sessions will follow the standard 90-minute format to include 60 minutes for presentations (20 minutes per presentation) followed by 30 minutes for questions and discussion. Presentations by veterans are especially encouraged as are presentations by graduate students. Graduate student travel grants will be made available to select students. All presentations will be video recorded and made publicly available after the conference via the Vietnam Center and Archive website. Select papers may also be published in a collection by the TTU Press.

Proposal submission deadline is February 15, 2018. Please submit a 250 word abstract and separate two-page CV/resume to 1968vietnamconference@gmail.com. The program committee of Ron Milam, Steve Maxner, Justin Hart, Dave Lewis, and Laura Calkins will evaluate all paper proposals and develop a program that reflects the many remarkable aspects of 1968. If submitting a panel proposal, please include separate abstracts for each proposed presentation and CVs/resumes for each speaker.