Readings: **Gammeltoft, Women's Bodies, Women's Lives
Da Ngan, "House with No Men"

1. According to Gammeltoft, what have been the effects of doi moi on families in Vai Son? How have these effects differed according to gender?

2. How do people define the "happy family"? Looking at the family planning posters in Gammeltoft's book, what role does the state play in promoting the "happy family," and what specific images does it associate with such a family? How does the "happy family" concept reflect economics, politics, and morality?

3. What are the physical, emotional, social, and cultural effects of IUD use? What role do concepts of the body and health play in shaping women's experiences of the IUD? Given the problems associated with the device, why does it continue to be so popular?

4. How does the concept of "local moral worlds" help Gammeltoft to explore dominant worldviews and "hidden transcripts" in Vai Son? What is the relationship between "local moral worlds," somatization, and women's agency? Can physical hardship be used as a form of resistance?

5. What were Gammeltoft's field methods, and what kind of evidence does she use in her argument? What are the strengths and weaknesses of her approach?

6. What are the familial obligations and personal relationships between the various women in the "House with No Men"? How do these differ from relationships within the nuclear family?

7. Why do you think that Thom's desire to remarry would arouse so much anger and pain? What is the author's attitude towards this matrifocal family?

 

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