CANH THÂN

Notes on Vietnamese history and culture

Nu-Anh Tran

If I were writing for an academic publication, here’s how I might introduce myself:

I am a historian of modern Vietnam and the Vietnam War. My research focuses specifically on the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, or South Vietnam, 1955-1975), and I am broadly interested in Vietnam’s political, cultural, and intellectual history. I currently teach at the University of Connecticut in the Department of History and the Asian & Asian American Studies Institute. My courses cover Vietnam, the Vietnam War, and Southeast Asia. Before coming to Connecticut, I received my Phd from the University of California, Berkeley, and taught at the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh.

Image source: https://www.choices.edu/scholar/nu-anh-tran/

But this blog is personal as well as professional, and here’s how I understand the intersection of the two:

I was born in Vietnam and came to the US as a refugee. I grew up in the greater Seattle area and attended Vietnamese-American community events throughout my childhood. My mother taught a weekend language class at home, and thanks to her tireless effort, I maintained my fluency in Vietnamese. I became interested in history because I was fascinated by my parents’ stories about coming of age in Saigon during the war. Although my research does not directly involve family history, my understanding of the RVN is shaped by their stories and my own experiences as a Vietnamese-American.

My blog reflects my research, teaching, and personal interests. Posts are divided into three broad categories that often overlap. Research includes posts about research projects, the publication process, tips for studying the RVN, professional development, and my experience in academia as a Vietnam scholar. I hope this content will be especially interesting and useful to junior faculty, grad students, and prospective grad students. Blog entries with syllabi, lesson plans, and reflections on teaching are categorized under teaching. The curricular infrastructure for teaching about Vietnam and Southeast Asia is so weak compared to that for Europe, the US, and China, and these posts reflect my attempt at strengthening that infrastructure in my own teaching. I hope educators at the high school and college level will find this material useful. Lastly, some posts belong to a broad category that I describe as heritage. These blog entries seek to engage with Vietnamese culture and diasporic Vietnamese experiences in a way that is culturally grounded and intellectually rigorous but still accessible. I apply historical analysis to my own personal experience and reflect on the process of language and cultural transmission. I also discuss aspects of Vietnamese culture that are not necessarily related to my research. These posts are meant to appeal to other diasporic Vietnamese in particular and contribute to the preservation of Vietnamese culture and historical memory in the diaspora.

Disclaimer: The contents of this blog express my personal views only and not those of the University of Connecticut.