OPEN UNIVERSITY OF THE LEFT
presents:

VIETNAM FROM THE INSIDE: A Reading of FRANCES FITZGERALD'S FIRE IN THE LAKE: The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam

Frances FitzGerald came to Vietnam in February of 1966, in her own words "very naive" about the war. Instead of following the troops like a dutiful war correspondent, she followed the historical and cultural roots of the Vietnamese revolution and the deadly but futile American effort to contain the forces of change. Her focus on politics rather than tactics produced a literary tour de force, a book that continues to resonate in an age of resurgent imperial aspiration and growing Third-World resistance.

Published in 1972, Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award and the Bancroft Prize for history. It uses a variety of perspectives to break through cultural and ideological barriers and allow Western readers to see the war through Vietnamese eyes. In a style combining irony with hard logic, FitzGerald dissects the war's paradoxical essence, showing why every government move against the revolution seemed to strengthen it, while every American show of support for the Saigon regime served only to weaken its connection to the villages and undermine whatever residual authority and self-respect it possessed.

The presentation, by writer, critic and OUL board member Hugh Iglarsh, will look at the writer herself in her time, providing a useful context for the book's wealth of insights on the war and on the culture of Vietnamese farmers— and American militarists.

Fire in the Lake has been reissued in paperback by Back Bay Books (with an afterword written in 2002) and is widely available.


WHEN & WHERE:
SEPTEMBER 29, THURSDAY, 7:00 PM AT ACME ART WORKS, 1741 N. WESTERN AVE. (at St. Paul Street), Chicago, two blocks south of the Western stop on the CTA Blue Line. Food and beverages are available from the Black Water Cafe, located inside the Acme complex.

HOW MUCH: $5 donation if you have it; more if you're willing; no one turned away.

FOR MORE INFO: E-mail OULChicago (at) yahoo.com or call (773) 384-5797 if you have a question or would like to lead an OUL session.

ABOUT THE OUL:
The Open University of the Left (OUL) is an independent forum founded in 1987 to organize presentations and discussion groups about politics, literature, philosophy, history and social theory. Events are open to all regardless of political orientation.
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COMING UP AT OPEN UNIVERSITY OF THE LEFT

Programs are presented at Acme Art Works, 1741 N. Western Ave., unless otherwise noted.

OCTOBER 8, SATURDAY, 2 PM: IN HITLER'S SHADOW. Film showing, "KUHLE WAMPE" and highlights of "TRIUMPH OF THE WILL"—German cinema of the 1930s, in its Communist and Fascist manifestations, led by media critic and Brecht scholar Warren Leming. Conceived by Bertolt Brecht at the political and artistic watershed of the waning Weimar Republic, Kuhle Wampe is remarkable for its enduring sense of immediacy and accessibility. The only communist film to come out of Weimar Germany, it was swiftly banned on Hitler's rise to power in 1933 (1931, 76 min., subtitled). Triumph of the Will was directed and produced by Leni Riefenstahl


OCTOBER 20, THURSDAY, 7 PM: RESISTANCE REMEMBERED. Film showing, "THE WAR AT HOME," on the Vietnam War in America. An acclaimed documentary, "The War at Home" charts the anti-war movement in Madison, Wisconsin in the 1960s and early 1970s, capturing the feeling of an era. 100 minutes. Discussion led by Madison-based movement veteran David Williams.


NOVEMBER 3, THURSDAY, 7 PM: STEALING DEMOCRACY. Anita and Jordan Miller lead a discussion of WHAT WENT WRONG IN OHIO: The Conyers Report On The 2004 Presidential Election, edited by Anita Miller, with an introduction by Gore Vidal. Paperback: 142 pages. Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers (May 1, 2005). A scathing indictment of the Ohio irregularities, this fascinating and disturbing book is the official record of testimony taken by the Democratic Members and Staff of the House Judiciary Committee, presided over by Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the Ranking Member. Originally released in January, 2005 by the Committee, it provides new insights into the abuse and manipulation of electronic voting machines and the arbitrary and illegal behavior of a number of elected and election officials which effectively disenfranchised tens of thousands of voters in order to change the outcome of an election. Anita Miller is editorial director/senior editor at Academy Chicago Publishers. Jordan Miller is her husband. www.academychicago.com/conyers.html


NOVEMBER 17, THURSDAY, 7 PM: THE AMERICAN EMPIRE: A THREAT TO FREE SPEECH presented by PETER N. KIRSTEIN, professor of history at St. Xavier University (Chicago), a nationally known advocate for peace and justice, and a progressive critic of American foreign policy. Website: people.sxu.edu/~kirstein/ Blog: english.sxu.edu/sites/kirstein/


DECEMBER 1, THURSDAY, 7 PM: Film showing: LIFE AND DEBT. Life and Debt is a feature-length documentary which addresses the impact of the IMF, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and current globalization policies on a developing country such as Jamaica.
http:www.lifeanddebt.org