Customer Reviews

Illumination Rounds: Teaching the Literature of the Vietnam War (Theory and Research Into Practice)

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When you ask a student to imagine what Vietnam was like, too often the only response they have is what they've seen from Hollywood. Rambo, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, to name a few, but that's the extent of their knowledge. In school they read stories about both World Wars, but hardly anything more than a few Tim O'Brien short stories about Vietnam. Why? Is it because we are ashamed of our past? Regardless, Vietnam happened and needs to be made more a part of school curriculum. Johannessen offers numerous suggestions as to how to incorporate this war into schools beginning with an introduction of the era and the nature of the war. In his list of appendices, there are activities to use to broaden the students' minds concerning Vietnam, as well as a list of books and stories to consider at the end. Overall i think this book extremely helpful and makes teaching a difficult topic easier. After all, if we let Hollywood shape our students' minds about this war, they'll only get one side. Teaching is about exposing our students to multiple viewpoints and allowing them to make up their own minds about a given topic. This book will help teachers help students formulate ideas about this war.

This is valuable resource for anyone who teaches narratives of war. Although the text is a bit dated given our most recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's focus on the Vietnam War is still necessary and relevant. The Vietnam War remains "spectre" not only in the American imagination, but also in the reality of our lives--it is important that students--high school and college level--study representations of the war. A topic that has long been avoided in the classrooms, the literature of the Vietnam War offers opportunities for students to practice skills like close reading and critical analysis, but it also lends itself to conversations about representation. This guide offers insight on texts, topics and methods that would be useful for those just starting to incorporate literature of Vietnam into their curriculum. Item arrived on time and in good condition for a used book.