Collaboration Review

Collaboration Review

I was asked to review Michael Wilmoth’s political cartoon project. He has two parts to his assignment; one part is on the escalation of Vietnam and the other is on Watergate. I found the cartoons and assignment extremely interesting and I think it would work very well for high school students. Below are my suggestions for Michael’s project.

Assignment 1 - Cartoons on the escalation in Vietnam

Historical Background
I think the most important suggestion I can make for this section is to consult specific monographs on the Vietnam War. The sources listed in the bibliography are either more general works or do not seem applicable to the subject matter. This leads to some historical mistakes in the background section. For example, in the first paragraph, after reading this sentence - “By October of that year the communist who had been fighting the French for control of the area since 1946 lead by Viet Minh took over what was now called Vietnam.” - it is unclear who the Viet Minh were and how they took over all of Vietnam, since the communists only controlled North Vietnam. A discussion of the South Vietnamese communists’ insurgency (as opposed to control of the government in the North) against Diem in the late 1950s and early 1960s might help clarify things. I would suggest Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990 by Marilyn Young or Vietnam: A History by Stanley Karnow to add more specific information to the historical background.

Student Handout
I really liked some of the questions that Michael included in this section. The first question asked them to summarize what they had seen in the cartoons, and then building on that, the other questions asked them to interpret and analyze aspects of the cartoons. I also liked question 4, which helps clarify for students that they are looking at cartoons by the same person and aids them in understanding the point of view and biases of this cartoonist. The teacher could then add other perspectives on the war to broaden students’ understanding. One concern that I did have is that students will need a significant amount of outside knowledge in order to answer question 2, since many groups were affected who are not in any of the cartoons. That knowledge could be brought in through other methods, of course, but the teacher would need to be aware of that before using the cartoons in class. Although not based specifically on the cartoons, I also thought that question 5 was interesting, because it could be used as a jumping off point for comparing US actions in Vietnam (and elsewhere during the Cold War) to those of the Soviet Union. Since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 is sometimes thought of as the USSR’s Vietnam, it would be interesting to compare Soviet justifications for that war to the US justifications for the war in Vietnam.

Answer Key
My suggestion for Michael here would be to expand on the answers given in the key so that there is more than just a sentence or two for each one. There is a tremendous potential for discussion and analysis in these cartoons, and more information for the teacher might be helpful to guide the students in their analysis of the cartoons. For example, with question 3, it might be interesting to provide some justifications for the war, so that students, who will reflexively oppose the war, might be exposed to ideas they had not considered.

Assignment 2 - Cartoons on Watergate

Historical Background
Overall, the essay on Watergate was very informative. To increase teacher understanding, one might add information to explain more fully the widespread corruption that the Nixon administration participated in, beyond just the break-in. Michael does list some of the wrongdoings, but explaining them might be beneficial. I would also recheck the dates in the essay, as some of them are incorrect. For example, Nixon resigned in 1974, not 1973. Finally, I have not read the books and articles that are cited, but looking over the sources on Amazon, none of them seemed specifically to deal with Watergate. It might be helpful to consult a work that focuses on the scandal.

Student Handout
I think the questions that Michael created for this assignment were very well done. I like that the student is asked a variety of questions about the message of the cartoon, the symbolism, and exaggeration and irony. One suggestion I have is to either eliminate question 7 or make it part of a larger project, since it asks students to use background knowledge well outside of the information provided in the cartoons. I also think question 6 on irony could be expanded to include all of the cartoons instead of just the first one. Finally, it might be necessary to explain the phrase “chickens coming home to roost” for a full understanding of the fourth cartoon.

Answer Key
For this answer key I will repeat the suggestion from the previous one: to expand on the answers given in the key to aid the teacher in guiding class discussion and student understanding of the cartoons. This applies especially to the last three questions.