Nation-Building in War: The Experience of Republican Vietnam, 1955-1975
October 17-18, 2016
Location: 180 Doe Library, University of California, Berkeley
DAY 1, October 17
Introductory Panel, 8:30-9:00 am
- Peter Zinoman, University of California, Berkeley
- Nu-Anh Tran, University of Connecticut
- Tuong Vu, University of Oregon
Panel 1: Pluralist Politics, 9:00 am-10:30 am
- Chair and moderator: Peter Zinoman
- Lâm Lễ Trinh, “President Ngô Đình Diệm & the First Republic of Việt Nam (1954-1963)” [speaking in Vietnamese via Skype].
- Huỳnh Văn Lang, “The Cần Lao Party” [speaking in Vietnamese via Skype]
- Hoàng Đức Nhã, “Striving toward a Lasting Peace to Continue Building the Nation: The Vietnam Peace Accords and Aftermath” [speaking in English].
Coffee break, 10:30 am-10:45 am
Panel 2: Economy and Development, 10:45 am-12:45 pm
- Chair and moderator: Tuong Vu
- Vũ Quốc Thúc, “The Birth of Central Banking” [greetings in English via Skype] Paper delivered by Trần Quang Minh.
- Cao Văn Thân, “Land Reform, Rural and Agricultural Development” [greetings in English via Skype], Paper delivered by Trần Quang Minh in English.
- Phạm Kim Ngọc, “Reform or Collapse” [speaking in English]
- Nguyễn Đức Cường, “Foundation for Self-Sufficiency and Growth” [speaking in English]
Lunch break, 12:45 pm-1:45 pm
Panel 3 (scholarly): Politics and Economy, 1:45 pm-3:45 pm
- Chair and moderator: Nu-Anh Tran
- Kevin Li, “Patriots or Collaborators: Reappraising the Bình Xuyên during Decolonization”
- Ryan Nelson, “Losing Hearts and Minds: A Look at Four South Vietnamese Non-Combat Related Urban Social Problems, 1965 to 1966”
- Simon Toner, “Stumbling Towards the Fall: The RVN’s Economic Crisis, 1969-1975”
- Sean Fear, “Reflections on the State and Civil Society in the Second Republic”
Coffee break, 3:45 pm-4 pm
Panel 4: Education and Media, 4-6:00 pm
- Chair and moderator: Alex-Thai Dinh Vo
- Võ Kim Sơn, “The Administration of the Public Education System in South Vietnam” [speaking in English]
- Nguyễn Hữu Phước, “The Philosophy and the Development of New School Types under the RVN” [speaking in English]
- Phạm Trần, “Living and Working as a Journalist in the Republic of Vietnam” [speaking in English via Skype]
- Vũ Thanh Thủy, “The Vietnam War in the Eyes of Vietnamese War Correspondents” [speaking in English]
———-
DAY 2, October 18
Panel 5: Security and Military, 8:30 am-9:30 am
- Chair and moderator: Tuong Vu
- Trần Minh Công, “Policing in a Country At War” [speaking in English]
- Bùi Quyền, “Reflections of a Frontline Soldier” [speaking in English]
Coffee break, 9:30 am-9:45 am
Panel 6: Society, Culture and the Arts, 9:45 am-11:15 am
- Chair and moderator: Van Nguyen-Marshall
- Huỳnh Văn Lang, “Society of the Perennial Self-Exiles” [speaking in VNmese via Skype].
- Nhã Ca,“Writers in the Republic of Vietnam” [speaking in VNmese]
- Kiều Chinh, “Cinematic Arts in the Republic of Vietnam, 1954-1975” [speaking in English]
Coffee break, 11:15 am-11:30 am
Panel 7 (scholarly), Civic Life amidst War, 11:30 am-1:00 pm
- Chair and moderator: Peter Zinoman
- Van Nguyen-Marshall, “Appeasing the Spirits along the ‘Highway of Horror’: Civic Life in Wartime South Vietnam”
- John Schafer, “Ngô Kha”
- Huong Nguyen, “Hidden Currents, Roiled Lives: Social Life in the City of Hue in 1963”
Special Luncheon Event, 1 pm-2 pm
- Introduction: Nguyen Duc Cuong
- Book Launch: South Vietnamese Soldiers: Memories of the Vietnam War and After (Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2016) by Nathalie Huynh Chau Nguyen
Concluding Remarks, 2 pm: Peter Zinoman, Tuong Vu, Nu-Anh Tran
—
Participants and Affiliations
Republic of Vietnam Figures (alphabetical list by first name)
Col. Trần Minh Công, Commandant of RVN Police Academy
Nguyễn Đức Cường, Minister of Trade and Industry
Kiều Chinh, Actress
Huỳnh Văn Lang, Director of Foreign Exchange Agency and secretary of the Can Lao Party’s Joint North-South branch, founder of Bách Khoa Review and the Association for the Development of Popular Culture
Phạm Kim Ngọc, Minister of Economy
Hoàng Đức Nhã, Presidential Advisor and Minister of Mass Mobilization and Open Arms
Nhã Ca, Writer
Dr. Nguyễn Hữu Phước, National Director of Elementary Teacher Training & In-Service Training, Ministry of Education
Lt. Col. Bùi Quyền, Deputy Commander, Third Airborne Brigade
Dr. Võ Kim Sơn, Lecturer, Faculty of Education, University of Saigon
Cao Văn Thân, Minister of Land Reform and Agricultural Development
Vũ Quốc Thúc, Central Bank Governor and Minister of Reconstruction and Development
Vũ Thanh Thủy, War Correspondent
Phạm Trần, Journalist
Lâm Lễ Trinh, Minister of Interior and Ambassador
Academics (alphabetical list by last name)
Sean Fear, PhD Candidate, Cornell University
Kevin Li, PhD Candidate, University of California, Berkeley
Ryan Nelson, PhD Candidate, University of California, Berkeley
Huong Nguyen, PhD Candidate, University of Washington
Nathalie Huynh Chau Nguyen, Associate Professor, Monash University
Van Nguyen-Marshall, Associate Professor, Trent University, Toronto
John Schafer, Professor Emeritus, Humboldt State University, CA
Simon Toner, Postdoctoral Fellow, Dartmouth College
Nu-Anh Tran, Assistant Professor, University of Connecticut
Alex-Thai Dinh Vo, PhD Candidate, Cornell University
Tuong Vu, Professor, University of Oregon
Peter Zinoman, Professor, University of California, Berkeley
