Module manager: Dr Sean Fear
Email: S.Fear@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is not approved as a discovery module
From the Second World War to Vietnam’s withdrawal from Cambodia in 1989, a series of multifaceted and interconnected conflicts gripped the Indochina peninsula. During this timespan, the wars in Vietnam evolved from anti-colonial struggle to superpower confrontation, and were central to the decades-long global encounter known as the Cold War. As the struggle for Vietnam grew in intensity and complexity, it took on increasingly global implications, drawing in a diverse range of rival states, citizens’ movements, and other non-state actors whose interpretations and responses to the war were conditioned by a variety of competing local agendas. This module will consider several critical historiographical questions, including: What were the Vietnamese, Lao, and Cambodian origins of the conflict? How and why did anti-colonial Vietnamese become so divided? Why did Cold War superpowers commit so much to a small, distant country? What role did the larger Cold War play in shaping overseas powers’ decision-making? What was the impact of each party’s respective domestic politics? How and why did the conflict end the way it did? And what are the global legacies of the war? The module will consider the Vietnam War as first and foremost a Vietnamese conflict, one which acquired increasingly global significance. In addition to exploring the domestic causes and dynamics of the Vietnam War, we will also consider the conflict - a definitive episode in the global Cold War - as a lens for analysing a wide range of international events and trends. These include empire and decolonization; the Non-Aligned movement; the Chinese civil war; the American “Red Scare; modernisation and development ideology; the Sino-Soviet split; China’s Cultural Revolution; Detente; American conservatism; the rise of East Asian ‘Tiger’ economies; the Khmer Rouge and Cambodian genocide; and the origins of ongoing strategic tensions in the South China Sea. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
The objective of the module is to equip you with the skills needed to identify the principal causes of the Vietnam War and to explore the factors prompting global powers to intervene, including the United States, France, the Soviet Union, South Korea, China, and Cambodia. In the seminar class discussions we will explore and evaluate the major historiographical interpretations and analyse a range of original primary source material.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Assess the global impact of the Vietnam War and engage with a range of theoretical and conceptual frameworks for understanding the war.
2. Evaluate important methodological and historiographical trends relating to the conflict.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
3. Analyse a range of relevant primary and secondary sources.
4. Formulate nuanced and sophisticated arguments supported by historical evidence.
5. Articulate complex ideas and interpretations.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workshop | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Supervision | 2 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Seminar | 20 | 2 | 40 |
| Private study hours | 355.6 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 44.4 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 400 | ||
Students will receive feedback on their ideas and arguments during the weekly seminar. They will also have the opportunity to receive feedback on an essay plan, and to discuss this with their module tutor. Feedback on draft gobbet answers and essay plans will be provided in advance of the OTLA.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Essay | 50 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 50 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
| Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Online Time-Limited assessment | 48.0 Hrs 0 Mins | 50 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 50 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team