Losing hearts and minds: The cultural mediation of the Vietnam War experience in *America.
Item
-
Title
-
Losing hearts and minds: The cultural mediation of the Vietnam War experience in *America.
-
Identifier
-
AAI9969686
-
identifier
-
9969686
-
Creator
-
Cunningham, Kenneth B.
-
Contributor
-
Adviser: Robert R. Alford
-
Date
-
2000
-
Language
-
English
-
Publisher
-
City University of New York.
-
Subject
-
Sociology, General | Political Science, General | History, United States
-
Abstract
-
The political-cultural legacy of the Vietnam War in America has been analyzed and debated across the political spectrum, and to varying degrees within the scholarly disciplines. Through the current period, debates about the "lessons" and "legacies" of Vietnam continue to shape U.S. political culture and foreign policy. This dissertation examines the cultural transmission and mediation of knowledge and beliefs about the Vietnam War and American politics, drawing on historical, public opinion, and interview data. The core of this study consists of thirty-five interviews of seventeen young people and separate interviews with their parents, some of whom are Vietnam veterans, and some of whom opposed the war in Vietnam. Through frame analysis and interpretation of the attitudes and beliefs of the parents and children, the study examines the relationship of the war to American political culture and the effects of generational differences and family socialization. Lasting criticism and distrust of the U.S. government are two of the most consistent findings of this study, for both parents and children. Implications for the further study of the interaction between war-making and political culture are also addressed.
-
Type
-
dissertation
-
Source
-
PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
-
degree
-
Ph.D.
