This course introduces students to the narratives that diverse actors have used to talk about Vietnamese histories. We will focus on the histories and perspectives of the indigenous peoples of the peninsula, ethnic minority groups, as well as that of the majority "Kinh people." We'll explore themes which have been central to shaping the geographic space, the socio-political regimes, and the cultural entity we now call "Viet Nam," while examining how varying types of historical method and archival strategies can influence the telling of histories. What kinds of techniques did Vietnamese and Western political actors, scholars, and writers, employ to narrate the Vietnamese past(s) and how do these visions tell us about the crafter of these narratives? What counts as “history” and who gets/got to decide? Whose experiences were relevant in the different epistemological approaches?
This course introduces students to the narratives that diverse actors have used to talk about Vietnamese histories. We will focus on the histories and perspectives of the indigenous peoples of the peninsula, ethnic minority groups, as well as that of the majority "Kinh people." We'll explore themes which have been central to shaping the geographic space, the socio-political regimes, and the cultural entity we now call "Viet Nam," while examining how varying types of historical method and archival strategies can influence the telling of histories. What kinds of techniques did Vietnamese and Western political actors, scholars, and writers, employ to narrate the Vietnamese past(s) and how do these visions tell us about the crafter of these narratives? What counts as “history” and who gets/got to decide? Whose experiences were relevant in the different epistemological approaches?
