When the world began to take notice of the growing risks of COVID-19 in early spring 2020, the University of South Florida Libraries–Tampa Special Collections shifted to virtual instruction sessions to provide students with access to rare books and primary-source archival materials. To respond to the need for a quick shift to online instruction, the department formulated a plan to support students with an open-access digital learning experience using ArcGIS StoryMaps. Building on critical digital pedagogy and feminist digital humanities, the sessions provided online teaching resources for faculty who could not schedule students for physical visits. Over the first year of remote work, the department created sessions for 15 course sections. Looking to the future, Special Collections will continue providing the option of virtual sessions as part of its instruction. The digital nature of the courses lends to a recursive pedagogy, allowing for continued adaptation that is complimentary to academic cycles.

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Relations between u.s. servicemen and Vietnamese civilians represent one of the most persistent cultural legacies of the Vietnam War. From brides to bar girls to crass film tropes of Vietnamese sex workers, women occupy a prominent place in the war’s memory. At the time, however, the media and u.s. government officials portrayed sex as a subtext to the larger conflict. From the outset, officials on all sides of the negotiating table struggled over how to contain the diverse impacts of the relationships on health, security, and morale. Prostitution played a central role in the debate. u.s. officials attempted to discount the significance of their impact on foreign relations and warfare, but social relationships indeed had an impact on how Americans engaged Saigon’s leaders. While scholars typically have shown the United States as the dominant power in Vietnam, sexuality became a somewhat level playing field where both governments feared the repercussions of limiting intercultural intimacy as much as they feared letting it continue. At first, the Saigon government enacted strict laws and attempted to prosecute violators, but never committed to eradication. By the war’s height u.s. officials adopted rigorous new programs which led to an Americanization of sexual and social policies regarding prostitution in Vietnam.