Vietnamese Diaspora A project on of Identity Present

Vietnamese Diaspora: A project on of Identity • Present the William Joiner Center project • Identify the points of controversy • Offer suggestions Bac-Sy NguyênlêHiêu, Ph. D. Shelton, Nebraska 5/18/2021 bsh 1

Vietnamese Diaspora: The William Joiner Center (WJC) • The William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences founded in 1982 • Goals: – Veterans’ educational & social needs – Healing the consequences of war (healing process between the two countries) 5/18/2021 bsh 2

Vietnamese Diaspora: The WJC In order to achieve those goals, WJC set up various programs: § Writers Exchange Program ) aimed at larger § Writers Workshop ) exposure of VN literature § The Indochina Poetry Program) § The Vietnam Institute ) for further dissemination § Translation project ) ambitious program for expanded diffusion 5/18/2021 bsh 3

Vietnamese Diaspora: The WJC While working on the healing process, the co-director of WJC keeps showing contempt for (South) Vietnamese • “…heavy colonial baggage ” (French connection) • “…had already betrayed…” (US cooperation) • Vietnamese refugees: as “pebbles” (and worse…) 5/18/2021 bsh 4

Vietnamese Diaspora • …fragment of broken pebbles drops of stagnant rainwater last rays of the dying sunlight… • … moss on the pebbles vapor above stagnant pool sunrays for ever delicate… 5/18/2021 bsh 5

Vietnamese Diaspora: The WJC • 1999: WJC initiated the project (Re)Construction Identity and Place in the Vietnamese Diaspora • Two ranking officials from Hanoi to come, observe then define their victims’ identity • Outcry within Vietnamese Community • Unsuccessful discussion • Class-Action suit 5/18/2021 bsh 6

Vietnamese Diaspora: Mismatches • What went wrong? • No critics nor apologist • neutral terminology: MISMATCH • Array of mismatches: – Cultural – Methodological – Ideological – Personalities 5/18/2021 bsh 7

Vietnamese Diaspora 1 - Cultural mismatch • Western culture: Crisis disrupting the equilibrium – Fight external force – Control internal pressure – Adjust to new situation 5/18/2021 *New Equilibrium *New skills/new Identity bsh 8

Vietnamese Diaspora 1 -Cultural Mismatch: Western • Puritan: City upon a Hill (with Purity) – Religious Freedom: Church-oriented City – Group migration: Community-based society – Social harmony and stability: ”In all times, some must be rich and some poor. . . rich must show charity and mercy, poor accept the fact as God’s will. ” John Winthrop 5/18/2021 bsh 9

Vietnamese Diaspora 1 -Cultural Mismatch: Western • Turner’s thesis: the Frontier life gave New qualities: skillful, • • resourceful, self-reliant, brave -- INDEPENDENT Land abundance: opportunity ---- SUCCESS Individual spiritual & material success: ---- EQUALITY Independence+ Success + Equality DEMOCRACY 5/18/2021 bsh 10

Vietnamese Diaspora 1 - Cultural Mismatch • Puritan: 1625: Original identity: – – – Church & Spirituality Community Stable & stratified society 1776: new identity: independence, material success, individualism, social mobility, equality, democracy ====== 5/18/2021 bsh The Puritan has become the Yankee 11

Vietnamese Diaspora: 1 - Cultural Mismatch: traditional Traditional Vietnamese culture values Integrity Confucian value: constant self Fatalistic approach: at the end, winner or looser, we remain true, identical to ourselves 5/18/2021 bsh 12

Vietnamese Diaspora: Cultural Mismatch Integrity as in the case of the wife waiting the soldier-husband She waited, till the became rock. THE POINTE OF THE LONGING WIFE 5/18/2021 bsh 13

Vietnamese Diaspora: 1 - Cultural Mismatch: traditional • Integrity: King Lê Chiêu-thống in exile in China – Head can be cut off but hair not be shortened – Skin can be peeled off but garment not be changed Exercise of futility? Do hair and costume have bearing on identity? At the end, all died in China not as Chinese 5/18/2021 but as Vietnamese bsh 14

Vietnamese Diaspora: 2 - Methodological Mismatch: Western • Western researchers apply methodology acquired at their institutions to other groups in different settings. Their methodology seems to be universal. The success story of L. C. Thompson 5/18/2021 bsh 15

Vietnamese Diaspora: 2 -Methodological Mismatch: Western • Speak Vietnamese • The French: “c’est un patois” • Virginia Thompson: Language adapted to the mentality of primitive people ………. • L. C. Thompson: Vietnamese language uses more logical (topical) subject at the difference of Indo-European languages which use more grammatical subject. (1965) 5/18/2021 bsh 16

Vietnamese Diaspora 2 - Methodological Mismatch • Grammatical Subject: – Defines grammar for the rest of the sentence – I go out with my friends vs She goes out with her friends – Je suis Americain vs Elle est Americaine – Bravo vs Brava – Professor Emeritus vs Professor Emerita 5/18/2021 bsh 17

Vietnamese Diaspora 2 - Methodological Mismatch Self introduction • Grammatical subject -2 ways- a- Tôi là John (I am John) b- Tên tôi là John (My name is John) Vietnamese Conversation 101 • Topical subject However, older native speaker would say…. Topical focus : sub-topic Tôi (me) : tên (name) Tôi tên là John : statements : là John : sinh-quán (home town) : ở Hà-nội : trú-quán (residence) : Hoa-kỳ (USA) 5/18/2021 bsh 18

Vietnamese Diaspora 2 - Methodological Mismatch Topical focus Ngày xưa có Anh Trương Chi Statements : Sub-topics : Người thì : (Appearance) Once lived a fisherman : Hát thì : (voice) : Statements : rất xấu : (ugly) : rất hay : (charming) ……………. . Success story but also misunderstanding and prejudice if local customs, history and culture are not taken in consideration… 5/18/2021 bsh 19

Francis Garnier, adventurer, French Empire-builder, killed by Chinese Hanoi, not Hue 5/18/2021 bsh 20

Ho Chi Minh: coalition government 1946 Bao-Dai: anti-communist government 1948 This analysis: c. 1950 5/18/2021 bsh 21

Language adapted to the mentality of primitive people Luc van Tien: unknown auteur less sensitive nervous system 5/18/2021 bsh 22

Vietnamese Diaspora: 3 - Ideological Mismatch Mankind looks for TRUTH + BEAUTY + GOODNESS Western Ideology: Search for TRUTH - Rigorous reasoning: a=b; b=c therefore a=c (Aristotle) - Rigorous methodology: Cartesian method (René Descartes) 5/18/2021 bsh 23

Vietnamese Diaspora: 3 - Ideological Mismatch • V-N: Integrity is an article of faith Research to affirm Integrity; goal: to show the GOODNESS • Anti-Communism: another article of faith Integrity and anti-Communism • We can understand why Vietnamese are appalled by the fact that Communist people with come and define their victims’ identity 5/18/2021 bsh 24

Vietnamese Diaspora: 4 - Personality Mismatch *Nguyễn bá Chung – – – 1954: Exodus to the South 1966: escaped military draft 1971: scholarship to the US Position in limbo/ambivalence Ivory tower New conviction *Nguyễn hữu Luyện - Officer, Armed Forces, RVN - 21 years in communist jails - Close to VN community - Expulsed from study – Late conversion to winning side 5/18/2021 bsh 25

Vietnamese Diaspora: Proposition Where do we go from here? What lessons have we learned? • 1 - Identity does not change overnight, even after a rude awakening. • New wording/concept: the Identity Journey (le trajet identitaire; cuộc hành-trình) 5/18/2021 bsh 26

Vietnamese Diaspora • 2 - Team approach: Two views from outside and within • • Best if can work together otherwise Two teams working on two arms of the problem Publish both results together Preceded by commentary from sounding board 5/18/2021 bsh 27

Vietnamese Diaspora • 3 - How to define Identity? – Self defined, self chosen? Or Labeling effect? Compare to biography and autobiography Philippe Lejeune; Trần dân Tiên • 4 - Interesting new topic: – Does the community behave accordingly to professed identity 5/18/2021 bsh 28

Vietnamese Diaspora: In Search of Identity I have reviewed a project on identity by WJC. I have identified several causes of controversy. Based on this analysis, I have presented suggestions that can be included in future researches at the planning stage 5/18/2021 bsh 29

Vietnamese Identity 5/18/2021 bsh 30