The Country of Memory: Remaking the Past in Late Socialist VietnamHue-Tam Ho Tai The American experience in the Vietnam War has been the subject of a vast body of scholarly work, yet surprisingly little has been written about how the war is remembered by Vietnamese themselves. The Country of Memory fills this gap in the literature by addressing the subject of history, memory, and commemoration of the Vietnam War in modern day Vietnam. This pathbreaking volume details the nuances, sources, and contradictions in both official and private memory of the War, providing a provocative assessment of social and cultural change in Vietnam since the 1980s. Inspired by the experiences of Vietnamese veterans, artists, authorities, and ordinary peasants, these essays examine a society undergoing a rapid and traumatic shift in politics and economic structure. Each chapter considers specific aspects of Vietnamese culture and society, such as art history, commemorative rituals and literature, gender, and tourism. The contributors call attention to not only the social milieu in which the work of memory takes place, but also the historical context in which different representations of the past are constructed. Drawing from a variety of sources, such as prison memoirs, commemorative shrines, funerary rituals, tourist sites and brochures, advertisements, and films, the authors piece together the disparate representations of the past in Vietnam. With these rare perspectives, The Country of Memory makes an important contribution to debates within postcolonial studies, as well as to the literature on memory, Vietnam, and the Vietnam War. |
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The Country of Memory: Remaking the Past in Late Socialist Vietnam Hue-Tam Ho Tai Limited preview - 2001 |
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altar American artists Bui Xuan Phai Cach Mang cadres century ceremony Chinh colonial commemorative Communist Party Con Dao Confucian cultural Dang Doi Moi Duc Thang's Duong Duong Thu Huong Duyen's exhibits fallen soldier Fan Zhongyan French Giang Hanoi heroes Ho Chi Minh Hoa Hung Hoc Xa Hoi Hue-Tam husband Huynh images Khoa Hoc Xa Malarney military Minh City Museum namese narrative Ngoc Nguc Nguyễn Nguyen Huy Thiep Nguyen Sang Nguyen Trai Nhat Ninh North Vietnamese official painting past peasant Pham Phan political postwar prostitute remember revisionist films Revolution revolutionary prison memoirs rites ritual role sacrifice Saigon shrine social socialist socialist realism soul South spirit state's story symbolic Thang Thanh Thinh Liet Ton Duc Thang's tourist traditional Tran Huy Lieu travelers trong Trung Sisters Truong Chinh Truong Hoc University Press veteran Viet Vietnam village Vuot wartime Wolters women young
Popular passages
Page 2 - It has been said that though God cannot alter the past, historians can.”