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.

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, 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.