APPROACHES TO AMERICAN STUDIES - SOME ISSUES TO BE RAISED 1.. College of Social Sciences & Humanities... H e concluded: “We have sacrificed our lives for the revolution so we m ust do it
Trang 1APPROACHES TO AMERICAN STUDIES - SOME ISSUES
TO BE RAISED
1 The First Vietnamese Lecturer on
American History
On w ritin g th is paper, one q u estion
com es up to my mind: “Who w a s th e first
V ietn a m ese lecturer on A m erican history?”
We all know th a t sin ce th e end o f the
20th cen tu ry backw ard, V ietn a m ese
education had been e x ten siv e ly influenced
by C onfucianism and w a s lim ited to
cla ssical w orks o f C onfucianism , which
w ere n a tu ra lly not concerned w ith
in tern ational affairs In th e early years of
the 2 0 th cen tu ry French colonial education
sy stem w a s e sta b lish ed in V ietnam N ew
know ledge and m eth od s w ere introduced
and w ere ta u g h t eith er by French teach ers
or V ietn a m ese tea ch ers w ho w ere trained
in French ed u a tio n a l in stitu tio n s
K ow ledge o f H istory w a s ta u g h t so that
colonial stu d e n ts could u n d erstan d French
history a s a resp ecta b le “M other C ountry.”
It is su rp risin g th a t th e first lectu re on the
history of the A m erican revolution w as
ta u g h t to V ietn a m e se stu d en ts by a
V ietn a m ese tea ch er in V ietn a m ese T hat
cla ss w as not an officially recognized one
in th e French colonial education sy stem , it
w as a tra in in g course for young
V ietn a m ese rev o lu tio n a ries w ho started
their cau se of th e stru g g le for n ation al
liberation It w a s held secretly in
G uangzhou (C hina) by th e V ietn a m ese
R evolutionary Y outh L ea g u e from 1925 to
1927 T he first lectu rer w a s N gu yen Ai
n Professor, Department of International Studies
College of Social Sciences & Humanities VNU.
V u D u o n g N i n h <#)
Quoc, later called P resid en t Ho Chi M inh, who had been a tea ch er before going abroad to find th e w ay to lib erate h is country T h ese le ctu r es w ere th en collected and w a s first p u b lish ed in 1927 [1] under
th e title “D uon g Kach Menh" (R evolutionary Road).
S ta rtin g from th e point o f view th a t
V ietn am is part o f th e world and the
V ietn a m ese revolu tion is part o f th e world revolution Ho Chi M inh exp lained carefully to h is stu d e n ts so m e o f th e rep resen ta tiv e revolu tion s in th e world One o f th e a im s o f h is book is "to take other nations revolutionary histories as example for us to look at, a n d to fa m ilia rize our
Thus, an im p ortan t part o f th e book is devoted to in trod u cin g and a n a ly z in g th ree big revolutions: th e A m erican R evolu tion , the French R evolu tion , and th e R ussian
R evolution am on g w hich the first lesso n is
on th e A m erican R evolution.
In th e lectu re on th e A m erican
R evolu tion , Ho Chi M inh p u ts forw ard 4
is s u e s w hich are su b su m ed u n der the follow ing headings:
- W hat is A m erica history?
- W hy did th e A m erica n s m ake revolution?
• W hat were th e co n seq u en ces o f the revolution?
• How w a s th e sig n ifica n c e of the
A m erican R evolu tion for th e V ie tn a m ese revolution?
9
Trang 210 Vu Duong Ninh
W ith n ea rly 70 0 w ords in 3 m edium '
* form atted p a g es, th e w ritin g sk etch es th e
b a ses o f th e str u g g le o f th e A m erican
people a g a in st th e B ritish for the
in d ep en d en ce o f N orth of A m erica during
th e secon d h a lf o f th e 18,h century It is
p o ssib le to reco g n ize th ree m ain id ea s in
th e w riting:
A m erica fo u g h t a g a in st th e B ritish
co lo n ia lists In V ietn a m , th e French
c o lo n ia lists w ere m ore draconian but “the
Vietnam ese has not yet learned from the
[1] T h e s ta te m e n t show ed Ho Chi M inh’s
h igh ap p recia tio n o f th e A m erican
ch aracter and sp irit, se e in g th em a s an
exam ple for the V ietn a m ese revolutionaries.
th in k in g rep re se n te d in A m erica’s
D ecla ra tio n o f In d ep en d en ce on “the right
to h a p p in ess ” [1] and it assumes that the
people h a v e th e right to abolish any
g o v ern m en t w h ich is d estru ctiv e to people
an d to s e t up a n ew on e, [1] Later, th ese
id ea s w ere so le m n ly w ritten in the first
sectio n o f th e D ecla ra tio n o f In depend en ce
o f th e D em ocratic R epublic of V ietn am in
1945 T h is is an u n ch a n g ed , objective, and
b rig h t ju d g m e n t o f g reat th o u g h t of the
A m erican R evolu tion and th e A m erican
people.
ex p erien ce to th e V ie tn a m e se R evolu tion it
is rea lized th a t in A m erica, “workers a n d
[I], It sh o u ld be noted th a t th e ju d g m en t
w a s draw n from a long road to n ation al
lib eration N g u y e n Ai Quoc had been to
A m erica and had w itn e sse d w ith h is own
ey e s th e r e a litie s o f th e A m erican society
d u rin g th e ea rly y ea rs of th e 20th century
H e concluded: “We have sacrificed our lives
for the revolution so we m ust do it radically It m eans when the revolution succeeds, the power should be handed to
It is clear th a t N g u y en Ai Quoc had drawn th e good p o in ts from the A m erican
R evolution so th a t th e V ie tn a m e se would follow a s w ell as its d raw b ack s so th a t the
V ietn a m ese should avoid or overcom e His tea ch in g s h ave le ft d eep im p r essio n s on
m any g en era tio n s o f V ie tn a m e se you th on
th e w ay to n ation al lib era tio n
A fter th e A u g u st R evolu tion in 1945, in the d ocu m en ts se n t to th e A m erican people and th e A m erican P r e sid e n ts, Ho Chi
M inh had m any tim e s focused on the
g rea tn ess o f th e A m erican R evolution and
h ig h ly praised th e good ex a m p les of T Jefferson , G W a sh in g to n , A Lincoln -
th ose w ho m ade g re a t co n trib u tio n s to the liberation of A m erica T h e se le tte r s often ended w ith th e hope th a t th e A m erican
A d m in istration w ould resp ect on th e great principles s e t forth by th e ir p red ecesso rs to end th e in v a sio n w a r in V ietn am
2 The Teaching of American History
in Vietnamese Universities
In 1956, tw o y ea rs after th e victory of
D ien B ien Phu an d th e sig n in g of the
G eneva A g reem en t for ce a sefire • in Indochina, th e H anoi U n iv e r sity w as founded S in ce th en , in tw o history
d epartm ents; one o f th e H anoi U n iv ersity and th e oth er o f th e H an oi T ea ch ers’
T raining U n iv e rsity , A m erican H istory has been ta u g h t a s part o f th e world history
T he basic co n ten t o f th e le ctu res on
A m erican h isto ry w a s p rin ted in 2 volu m es entitled: “Pre-M odern H istory a n d Modern
V N U Journal o f Science Site Sci Human N ltJE 2004
Trang 3no curriculum sp ecia lized in A m erican
H istory.
h istory of A m erica is m en tio n ed in the
follow ing C hapters:
C h a p t e r III: T he S tru g g le a g a in st
B ritish co lon ialism for th e in d ep en d en ce of
North of A m erica an d th e E sta b lish m en t of
the U n ited S ta tes.
C h a p t e r V III: T he U n ited S ta te s in
the F irst H a lf o f 19th C entury and th e C ivil
W ar (1 8 6 1-1864).
C h a p t e r IX: E u ropean C oun tries and
th e U n ited S ta te s at th e end of th e 19th
cen tu ry and a t th e b eg in n in g of th e 20fh
century.
In th e Modern World H istory [3], the
A m erican h istory is not p resen ted in a
sep a ra te ch ap ter but as part of the
follow ing chapters:
C h a p t e r IV: M ajor C a p ita list
C oun tries in th e Period o f 1917-1939.
C h a p t e r XV: M ajor C a p ita list
C oun tries in th e S eco n d H a lf of th e 1970s
to 1995.
A m erican h isto ry is also m en tion ed in
th e sectio n s rela ted to in tern a tio n a l
rela tio n s such as:
C h a p t e r III: W a sh in g to n -V ersa illes
S y ste m
C h a p t e r V II: In te rn a tio n a l R ela tio n s
lea d in g to W orld W ar II (1929*1939)
C h a p t e r V III: World War II (1939
-1945)
C h a p t e r EX: In tern a tio n a l R ela tio n s
from 1945 to th e F ir st H a lf o f th e 1970s
C h a p t e r X IV : In tern a tio n a l rela tio n s
from th e Second H a lf o f th e 1 9 7 0 s to 1995.
From w h a t h a s b een m en tion ed in
th ose ch a p ters, it is p o ssib le to m ake th e
follow ing ju d gm en ts:
of p a g es in th e curriculum a s w ell a s tea ch in g hours for th e su b ject on the
h istory of A m erica ta k es up a co n sid era b le
a m ou n t of tim e in th e w hole cu rricu lu m of
th e world history, in clu d in g world and
regional superpowers.
A m erican people in th e fig h t a g a in st colonialism for liberation to e sta b lish the
U n ited S ta te s a s w ell as th e str u g g le to
ab olish sla v e ry play an im p o rta n t part in
th e curriculum w ith w ell-k n o w n n a m es such a s W a sh in gton , J efferso n , and
L in co ln “N ew d e a r of Fr R o o sev elt in
th e 1930s and th e role of A m erica in the
a n ti-fa scist w ar in E uropean and Pacific
b a ttle s are a lw a y s h ig h ly a p p recia ted a s a crucial con trib u tion to th e victory o f the
A llied Forces in the world.
War w orldw ide, V ietn am w a s a h ot spot in
th e early y ea rs o f th e 1950s T he p resen ce
of th e A m erican forces in V ietn a m and th e
lo n g -la stin g and s e v e r e w ar (1 9 5 4 -1 9 7 5 ) had resu lted in h o stility b e tw e e n th e two cou n tries T he textb ook s and th e le ctu res
on th is period focus la rg ely on th e global policy o f th e A m erican g o v ern m en t, its
in terferen ce into th e w orld ’s e v e n ts, and its ex p a n sio n of pow er a n d v io la tio n of
m an y p eo p le’s rig h ts, in w hich the
V ietn a m ese can reco g n ize d irectly its
n eg a tiv e sid es.
th e le ctu res, esp ec ia lly th e g ra d u a tio n pap ers by s tu d e n ts of th e F a cu lty of
In tern a tio n a l S tu d ie s s till tried to ex p lo it
th e p o sitiv e sid e s o f th e V ietn a m -A m e rica relation s T h ese w ere th e top ics o f the
m eetin g s, th e d e m o n str a tio n s h eld by stu d e n ts, in te lle c tu a ls and all w a lk s o f life
in A m erica, d em a n d in g th e A m erican
A d m in istra tio n to stop th e w ar in
V N U Journal o f Science Silt' S i t Human N , J E 2004
Trang 41 2 Vu Duong Ninh
V ietn a m In P a rticu la r, th e period of
1944-1946 w a s m ost fr eq u en tly m en tio n ed T h e
V iet M inh led by P r e sid e n t Ho Chi M inh
w ith A m erican o fficers from T h e O ffice o f
S tr a teg ic S e rv ices (O SS) in K un*M ing
(C hina), joined to fig h t th e J a p a n e s e in
Indochina L iv in g in d ifficu lt co n d itio n s in
th e forestry and m o u n ta in o u s a r e a s o f th e
N o rth ern m o st B a se o f V ie tn a m , officers of
th e O S S w ere th e o n ly fo reig n ers w ho
train ed V ie tn a m e se rev o lu tio n a ry arm ed
forces T h ey w ere a lso a m o n g th e e a r lie s t
m en to a p p ea r in H an oi so m e d a y s after
th e gen era] u p risin g a n d th e victory o f th e
A u g u st R ev o lu tio n O n th o s e d ays, m an y
le tte r s w ere s e n t by P r e sid e n t Ho Chi
M inh w ith good w ill a n d frie n d sh ip to th e
A m erican P r e sid en t, th e A m erican
C o n gress, an d th e A m erica n people
U n fo r tu n a te ly , th e T ru m an
A d m in istra tio n and it s s u c c e sso r s had
ch osen a d iffere n t ap p roach to foreign
policy th a t en d ed up w ith th e P aris
A g re em en ts in 1973 an d th e A m erican
b itter d efe a t in V ie tn a m in 1975 after
y e a r s o f s e v e r e w ar.
T h ese s k e tc h e s sh o w th a t th e tea ch in g
of A m erican h isto ry is s till con d u cted in
V ie tn a m e se U n iv e r s itie s w ith both p o sitiv e
an d n e g a tiv e s id e s co n ce r n in g the
A m erican foreign policy a n d its rela tio n
w ith V ietn a m So, h ow sh o u ld A m erican
S tu d ie s be run in th e n e w c o n tex t o f th e
history?
T he fir st co n feren c e on th e A m erican
L itera tu r e w a s h eld in th e C o lleg e o f S ocial
S cien ce and H u m a n itie s, V ietn a m
N a tio n a l U n iv e r sity , H an oi in 1998
T w en ty th ree y e a r s a fter th e V ietn a m
W ar, 3 y e a r s a fter th e e s ta b lis h m e n t o f
V ietn a m -A m erica d ip lo m a tic rela tio n ,
sch o la rs o f lite r a tu r e o f th e tw o c o u n tr ies
g a th ered to g e th e r to d is c u s s th e in flu en ce
of th e V ietn a m W ar on A m erican
litera tu re, cu ltu re an d th e critical approach to n on -litera ry d o cu m e n ts [4]
T he e s ta b lis h m e n t of A m erican S tu d ie s a s
a d isc ip lin e w a s a lso ra ised for d iscu ssio n
in th e C onference.
3 The Establishment of American Studies in Vietnam: Some Issues to
be Raised
T he ab ove section on ly m en tion ed the tea ch in g o f A m erican h istory W ith the
m u lti-d iscip lin a ry stru ctu re o f V ietn am
N a tio n a l U n iv e r sity , H anoi, m any
d ep a rtm en ts and fa cu lties also teach
A m erican S tu d ie s d ep en d in g on th eir
p a rticu lar s p e c ia lity (litera tu re, econom ics,
la w ) T h e F a cu lty of In tern a tio n a l
S tu d ie s w a s founded and it con sid ers
A m erican S tu d ie s a s centra] part of research on th e A m erican co n tin en t The
f a c u l t y IS r e s p o n s i b l e for t e a c h i n g a b o u t
th e U n ite d S ta te s , it s h istory, culture, econom y, law , p o litica l sy ste m , so ciety , and foreign policy T h is o rien ta tio n has
im p ortan t an d lo n g -la stin g sig n ific a n ce for
th e fo u n d a tio n o f A m erican S tu d ie s in
V ietn a m
A t p resen t, th e e s ta b lis h m e n t of
A m erican S tu d ie s in V ietn a m is raised in a favorab le condition: th e V ietn am -A m erica
d ip lom atic r ela tio n h a s been norm alized and sc h o la r s h a v e b een ex ch a n g ed , and it
s u its th e a sp ir a tio n s o f th e tw o countries: for a str o n g er frien d ly rela tio n and an effectiv e co-operation.
H o w ever, in order to im p lem en t the
d iscip lin e su c cessfu lly , th e first issu e
ra ised is to s e t up a “Program on A m erican
S tu d ie s ,” m o b ilizin g resea rch ers in th is field th ro u g h o u t th e country to follow a general program w ith concrete assign m en ts
At th e s a m e tim e, in tern a tio n a l rela tio n s
in A m erica n S tu d ie s netw ork sh ou ld be esta b lish e d reg io n a lly a s w ell a s w orld
V N U , Jo u rn a l o f Science, Soc Set Hitman.' 2004
Trang 5wide so a s to prom ote th e d ev elo p m en t of
A m erican S tu d ies.
The second issu e is to tra in a sta ff of
lecturers on A m erican stu d ie s T h is sta ff
should co n sist of young, co m p eten t, and
prospective acad em ics T h ey w ill eith er
learn A m erican S tu d ies in c la sse s
organized in V ietn am from both A m erican
and V ietn a m ese sch olars or w ill be sen t to
study in th e U n ited S ta te s or m ay a tten d a
com bined m ode o f train ing T h is is the
m ost fu n d a m en ta l step so th a t w e w ill
have enough hum an reso u rces to run
A m erican S tu d ie s in V ietn a m A long w ith
bu ilding h u m an resou rces, b u ilding
physical fa cilities is a lso o f v ital
im portance T here sh ou ld be an A m erican
S tu d ies R esource C en ter w h ich in clud es
n ew sp ap ers, m a teria ls, and m ed ia relatin g
to A m erican S tu d ie s.
T he third is s u e is to prom ote
ex ch a n g es am on g stu d e n ts o f th e two
co u n tries th ro u g h su m m e r c la ss e s or som e oth er k in d s of m e e tin g so th a t you n g people w ill h a v e m ore o p p o rtu n ities to
u n d e rsta n d each o th er an d su b se q u e n tly
to u n d e r sta n d a s p e c ts o f each o t h e r s country T h ere is a r e a lity th a t d u e to the
lo n g -la stin g w ar in V ie tn a m , p o in ts o f view about each cou n try m ay b e m ore or le ss refracted w h ich w ould m ak e it im p o ssib le
to h a v e a full u n d e r sta n d in g o f each other
As s c ie n tists , w e sh o u ld n o t avoid th is rea lity b u t to rem ed y th e problem w e
sh ou ld e s ta b lis h a p ictu re o f each n ation
ex a ctly a s it is th ro u g h ed u ca tio n a l
a c tiv itie s or c u ltu ra l e x c h a n g es.
A lth o u g h it m ig h t be a b it late, th e
e s ta b lis h m e n t o f th e A m erica n S tu d ie s in
V ietn a m is o f n e c e ssity T h e d iscip lin e not
on ly p rovid es b a sic and sy ste m a tic
k n o w led g e on a sc ie n tific field but also
co n trib u tes e ffic ie n tly to th e prom otion of
th e rela tio n b e tw e e n th e tw o co u n tries.
R E F E R E N C E S
1 Hồ Chí Minh, Đường Kách mệnh, trong “Tuyên tập”, T 1 NXB Sự Thật, Hà Nội, 1980 trang 240-243.
2 Vù Dương N inh, Nguyền Văn Hồng, Lịch sử th ế giới cận đại, NXB Giáo dục, Hà Nội, 1996.
3 Nguyễn Anh Thái (chủ biên), Lịch sử th ế giới hiện đ ạ i, NXB Giáo dục, Hà N ội, 1996.
4 Nguyễn Liên, Johathan Auerbach (đồng chủ biên), Tiếp cận đương đại văn hóa M ì (Tiếng
V iệt và tiếng Anh), NXB Văn hóa Thông tin, Hà Nội, 2001.
VN U , Journal o f Science Soc Sri Human , N,fSE, 2004