November 13, 2017 Humanities 10 Classwork

The Truth of War Project

A thing may happen and be a total lie;
another thing may not happen and be
truer than the truth.
- Tim O’Brien,
The Things They Carried

Context and Relevance

Many of us have veterans of the Vietnam War in our immediate families. From fathers to uncles to grandfathers,
there are few families who weren’t touched by this conflict. We have also been steeped in iconic images from
this war: the Vietnam Memorial, children running from napalm attacks, Vietnamese climbing the walls of Saigon.

Despite the pervasiveness of this conflict in our culture, it is difficult to find a discussion of Vietnam that tackles
the war in all its complexity, taking into account the historical context, the forces that shaped the conflict, and
its lasting effects on the soldiers who served in Vietnam.

During this project, you will explore different perspectives on the Vietnam War, and attempt to capture and
convey complex, elusive truths about the conflict through history, storytelling and art.

Essential Questions
1. What is true in war?
2. Where can we find truths about the Vietnam War?
3. How can we determine the truth when there are conflicting sources?
4. How can we effectively capture and convey these complex truths in the humanities?
5. Why does finding and communicating the truth about the Vietnam War matter today?

Project Overview
To answer the essential questions we will spend the remainder of the semester exploring different perspectives
on the Vietnam War, including primary sources, stories from Tim O’Brien’s novel ​The Things They Carried ​and
from Vietnamese authors​, ​interviews with veterans in our community, art and music from the Vietnam Era, and
selections from Ken Burns’ new documentary series.

Next semester we will offer answers to our essential questions at a student-led exhibition, held in the first week
of February. Students will be responsible for designing, building and hosting the exhibition, with Ally’s support.