Registration for this course is closed. The Korean War (or Conflict) encompassed the collision of post-WWII China, the Soviet Union, North Korea, and the US. The war was waged against a background of fear in the US over the rise of Communism. New technology was pitted against a massive force of battle-hardened Chinese soldiers. An aged Douglas MacArthur ignored Harry Truman, General Walton Walker, and his own intelligence corps to send US soldiers to the Korea/China border, and into a deadly trap. Korea was this country’s reckoning with its own exceptionalism. Were lessons learned? We shall see. While this course has been previously taught, new information will be added. Prior to each class, a lecture outline will be sent via email; after each class, a printed version of the lecture will be distributed (minus the interesting in-class discussion), also via email. Each class will include time for questions and discussion, and a full range of viewpoints will be covered. No background, knowledge, or outside reading will be required.