Reading & Composition

This is a reading and composition course that will introduce a selection of Vietnamese fiction translated into English. The course will explore the development of Vietnamese literature from the pre-modern period to the present, focusing on works that emerged from the civil and international conflicts that defined 20th century Vietnam. We will interrogate the dynamics of cultural production under colonial and communist regimes, the shifting relations between intellectuals and the state, the effects of political reforms on literary sensibilities, and the limits of literature in representing the aftereffects of war and socialist experiments. A diverse range of scholarship on Vietnamese social and political history will inform discussions of these thematic concerns.

Required Texts:

Ho Xuan Huong, Spring Essence: The Poetry of Ho Xuan Huong (translated by John Balaban)

Vu Trong Phung, Dumb Luck: A Novel (translated by Nguyen Nguyet Cam and Peter Zinoman)

Nguyen Huy Thiep, The General Retires (translated by Greg Lockhart)

Duong Thu Huong, Paradise of the Blind (translated by Phan Huy Duong and Nina McPherson)

Pham Thi Hoai, The Crystal Messenger (Ton-That Quynh-Du)

Monique Truong. The Book of Salt

Recommended text:

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers by Joseph Gibaldi, 6thedition.