The course will examine Ho's life from the moment he left Vietnam in 1911 until his return in 1941. And his subsequent career as leader of the Viet Minh movement against the French colonisers, culminating in the great victory over France at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Finally, it will look at Ho's last years as Father of the Nation and analyse the legacy he has left to modern Vietnam. Appropriate reference will be made to the roles of France, Britain, China, the Soviet Union and the U..S. in Ho's life story, and to domestic themes.