Professor Ann Marie Leshkowich
Beaven 231
793-2788
aleshkow@holycross.edu
Office Hours: M 2-4, W 2-3, F 10-11

 

Course Description

Vietnam today is experiencing tremendous change: economic development, urbanization, increasing consumerism, religious revivals, and transformations in family relationships. As Vietnamese face the future, they must also grapple with the past, particularly a 20th century marked by colonialism, revolution, war, and socialism. How are Vietnamese trying to balance change with preservation of traditional values and social structures? How can anthropologists make sense of Vietnamese culture and society today?

This course will explore the complexities of Vietnam in the 21st century and the enduring themes of its society and culture. Using a combination of literature, historical studies, and contemporary accounts by anthropologists, we will examine Vietnamese family organization, village society, gender relations, cultural values, and religion. We will also look at Vietnam's transformation under socialism, the legacy of war, changing gender roles today, and how a current religious revival reveals tensions between religion, morality, the economy, and the state.

 

Class meetings

The class meets one time per week and follows a seminar format. Students will be expected to attend all class meetings (attendance will be taken), to complete the readings as scheduled on the syllabus, and to come to class prepared to engage in a focused discussion of the issues raised by the readings. Most weeks, students will write a brief response paper (2-3 pages) on an assigned topic. These will serve as the basis for group discussion.

 

Course Requirements

Course grades will be based on written work and class participation, broken down as follows:

1. Class Discussion and Participation (15%)

This advanced seminar promotes an active approach to learning. Not only are you required to attend all class meetings, but you will be expected to engage actively in group discussions in ways which demonstrate your critical reflection on the readings. You will also be required to explore the themes of the course by conducting research on an independent topic. The final class session will be devoted to presentations of these final research papers, and these presentations will be taken into account in calculating participation grades. Because involvement in class activities is so important, more than one unexcused absence during the semester will result in the lowering of your participation grade by two percentage points for each additional class missed.

2. Response papers (25%)

In preparation for most class meetings, you will be asked to write either a short response paper on an assigned question related to the readings or a report on an independent ethnographic exercise. These papers require you to reflect on the readings, either by developing your own insights or by evaluating the methods used by their authors. Nine assignments will be given, and each student must complete at least eight. Each of the eight assignments will be worth three points, for a total of 25% of your course grade. A ninth paper can be completed for extra credit up to a maximum of 25 points. Late papers will not be accepted.

3. Two 5-7 page essays (25%)

In weeks 6 (October 3) and 10 (October 31), you will be asked to submit a 5-7 page (double-spaced) essay on an assigned question. These essays will require you to make a critical, insightful, and compelling argument that synthesizes issues raised by readings from the previous weeks. Each paper will count for 12.5% of your course grade. Papers will be due at the beginning of the class meeting. Unexcused late papers will be penalized one portion of a grade (e.g. an A becomes an A-) for each day late.

4. Final Paper (35%)

At the end of the semester, you will complete a final paper (15-20 pages), either an extended treatment of one of the topics raised in the seminar (with additional outside reading) or a research paper relating the issues explored in the course to an independent topic of your choosing. Paper topics must be approved by the professor, with proposals due in week 8, and abstracts/ bibliographies due in week 11. Final papers will be due on Monday, December 10 by 5 p.m. Unexcused late papers will be penalized one portion of a grade (e.g. an A becomes an A-) for each day late.

 

Grade Calculation

The 5-7 page essays, final paper, and course grades will be calculated according to a 100-point scale. The grading scale is as follows:

A, 93 and above	C+, 77-79
A-, 90-92	C, 73-76
B+, 87-89	C-, 70-72
B, 83-86	D+, 67-69
B-, 80-82	D, 60-66
	F, 59 and below

Office Hours

My office hours are listed at the top of this syllabus, and I encourage you to visit with me during the semester. I am available to discuss specific issues arising from the course, as well as to exchange more general insights and chat about experiences from your studies or my research.

 

Course Website (http://college.holycross.edu/faculty/aleshkow/vnsem/vnsem.html )

The website for this course is a center for important information: syllabus, writing assignments, study guide questions, essay questions, and announcements. Please check it frequently and feel free to pass along suggestions for additional links and information which should be included. Also, check out my homepage at:
http://www.holycross.edu/departments/socant/aleshkow/homepage.html

 

Readings

The following books (marked with ** on the reading list) are available for purchase:

Nguyen Du. The Tale of Kieu. 1983. Yale University Press. ISBN: 0300040512.
Pham Van Bich. The Vietnamese Family in Change. 1999. Curzon Press. ISBN: 0700711058.
Gammeltoft, Tine, Women's Bodies, Women's Worries. 1999. Curzon Press. ISBN: 0700711112.
Luong, Hy Van. Revolution in the Village. 1992. Hawaii University Press. ISBN: 0824813995.
Bao Ninh. The Sorrow of War. Riverhead. 1995. ISBN: 1573225436.
Kibria, Nazli. Family Tightrope. 1993. Princeton University Press. ISBN: 0691021155.

All other readings are on reserve at Dinand.

 

Course Schedule

Week 1: August 29
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF THE THEMES OF THE COURSE
Readings: Jamieson, "How the Vietnamese See the World," Understanding Vietnam, 1-41
Duiker, Vietnam: Revolution in Transition, 1-14

 

TOPIC ONE: THE PRE-REVOLUTIONARY HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The seminar will begin by exploring the origins of Vietnamese civilization and its pre-revolutionary history, particularly the impact of its colonial relationships with China and France. How has contact with China shaped Vietnamese cultural values? What has been the impact of Confucianism? How has Vietnam struggled to differentiate itself from China? How has confrontation with France caused Vietnamese to re-evaluate their own traditions? How have they adapted to and incorporated elements of Western culture?

Week 2: September 5
CHINA AND CONFUCIANISM
Readings: Taylor, The Birth of Vietnam, 1-44
Duiker, Vietnam: Revolution in Transition, 15-29
**Nguyen Du, The Tale of Kieu, Introduction and entire poem
Writing Assignment #1 Due

Week 3: September 12
FRENCH COLONIALISM
Readings: Duiker, Vietnam: Revolution in Transition, 30-56
Jamieson, "Confrontation with the West, 1858-1930," Understanding Vietnam, 42-99
Tai, "Our Fathers' House" and "Daughters of Annam," Radicalism and the Origins of the Vietnamese Revolution, 10-56, 88-113
Writing Assignment #2 Due

 

TOPIC TWO: THE FAMILY, REAL AND SYMBOLIC

In this section, we examine the basic unit of Vietnamese society: the family. What ideals do Vietnamese hold about familial organization? How has the family changed over time? What challenges do families face today as Vietnam moves toward a market economy?

Week 4: September 19
TRADITIONAL FAMILY VALUES
Readings: Jamieson, "The Traditional Family in Vietnam" in The Vietnam Forum 8 (1986), 91-150
Tai, "How to Speak Like a Vietnamese"
**Pham Van Bich, The Vietnamese Family in Change, 1-43
Writing Assignment #3 Due

Week 5: September 26
CHANGING FAMILIES
Readings: **Pham Van Bich, The Vietnamese Family in Change, 44-253
Marr, "Vietnamese Youth in the 90s"
Writing Assignment #4 Due

 

TOPIC THREE: GENDER

This week, we will focus specifically on women's identities, both in Vietnam's past and today. What have been women's experiences? How have Vietnamese conceptualized gender? How do tensions about women's roles today relate to broader tensions within Vietnamese society?

Week 6: October 3
GENDER
Readings: **Gammeltoft, Women's Bodies, Women's Lives
Da Ngan, "House with No Men"
ESSAY #1 DUE THIS WEEK

 

TOPIC FOUR: THE VILLAGE, REAL AND SYMBOLIC

Eighty percent of Vietnam's population lives outside the city. What is the structure of village society? What kinds of relationships occur within the village community? How have colonialism, war, socialism, and economic development changed village society? What role do images of village life play in Vietnamese conceptions of their identity?

Week 7: October 10
VILLAGE SOCIETY
Readings: Jamieson, "The Traditional Village in Vietnam" in The Vietnam Forum 7 (1986), 89-126.
**Hy Van Luong, Revolution in the Village, 1-95
Writing Assignment #5 Due

Week 8: October 17
VILLAGE IN CHANGE
Readings: **Hy Van Luong, Revolution in the Village, 96-232
Writing Assignment #6 Due
FINAL PAPER PROPOSAL DUE THIS WEEK

 

TOPIC FIVE: RELIGION

Vietnamese typically describe their religion as "tam giao" - a triple religion which blends Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Vietnam also has a large percentage of Catholics. What role have these syncretic traditions played in Vietnamese life? Why is Vietnam today experiencing a religious revival?

Week 9: October 24
RELIGION
Readings: Cadiere, "Religious Beliefs and Practices of the Vietnamese"
Tai, "Religion in Vietnam: A World of Gods and Spirits" in Vietnam: Essays in History, Society, and Culture. New York: Asia Society, 1986
Kleinen, Facing the Future, Reviving the Past, 161-189
Le Hong Ly, "Praying for Profit: The Cult of the Lady of the Treasury" (available on-line)
Malarney, "The Limits of 'State Functionalism' and the Reconstruction of Funerary Ritual in Contemporary Northern Vietnam." 1986. American Ethnologist 23(3):540-560.
Writing Assignment #7 Due

 

TOPIC SIX: COMING TO TERMS WITH THE RECENT PAST

Today, Vietnam seems a dynamic land in which people are working hard to realize a better future. At the same time, it seems a land haunted by its recent past, particularly the painful aftermath of war and the sacrifices it exacted. How are Vietnamese, both within and outside of Vietnam, grappling with the legacy of the past? How are they trying to balance socio-economic change with preservation of traditional values?

Week 10: October 31
WAR AND ITS AFTERMATH
Readings: **Bao Ninh, The Sorrow of War
Ha Thuc Sinh, "Welcome to Trang Lon, Reeducation Camp"
Turner, Even the Women Must Fight, 167-189
Malarney, "The Motherland Remembers Your Sacrifice," in The Country of Memory: Remaking the Past in Late Socialist Vietnam. Hue-Tam Ho Tai, ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.
ESSAY #2 DUE THIS WEEK

Week 11: November 7
MARKETS AND MORALITY
Readings: Nguyen Huy Thiep, "The General Retires" in The General Retires and Other Stories
Leshkowich, Dissertation selections
Writing Assignment #8 Due
FINAL PAPER ABSTRACT AND BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE THIS WEEK

Week 12: November 14
DIASPORA
Readings: **Kibria, Family Tightrope
Leshkowich, "The Ao Dai Goes Global" (will be distributed in class)
Tai, "The Past is a Foreign Country"
Writing Assignment #9 Due

Week 13: November 28
No readings this week. ***Student Presentations on Research Projects***

Monday, December 10
FINAL PAPERS DUE by 5 p.m. in Professor Leshkowich's office (Beaven 231).

 

For more information, contact:  aleshkow@holycross.edu