Readings: Jamieson, "How the Vietnamese See the World," Understanding Vietnam, 1-41
Duiker, Vietnam: Revolution in Transition, 1-14

 

1) Jamieson describes traditional Vietnamese culture as organized around the principles of yin and yang. What do these concepts represent? (It might help to make a list of the different aspects of Vietnamese society which Jamieson sees as yin and yang.) How do these concepts operate as a model through which Jamieson says Vietnamese see the world? How do they combine as subsystems of a single cultural system?

2) Can you think of any great principles which underlie American society in the way that Jamieson claims yin and yang operated in Vietnam? Based on your comparison, what do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of an anthropologist using such fundamental philosophical concepts to describe a culture, even if the people who created the concepts don't themselves see things in that way?

3) How does Duiker's overview of Vietnam differ from Jamieson's? In what ways is it similar? Why do you think Duiker emphasizes minority groups?

For more information, contact:  aleshkow@holycross.edu