Tuong Vu: "Untold Perspectives: The Politics of Agency in US-Vietnam Relations”

“Scholars tend to identify communism with the Vietnamese Nation. And that is wrong because there were a diversity of political ideas and movements throughout Vietnamese history and modern history. The communists were a radical minority on the fringe of society.” - Tuong Vu, Director of the US-Vietnam Research Center and Professor of Political Science In this episode of The Global Hearth, Professor Tuong Vu describes his method of using intimate archival sources—such as letters from a young revolutionary named Ho Chi Minh about high rent & poor living conditions in Moscow or personal documents from the widely maligned "First Lady" of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Nhu—to help understand the historical and human origins of political ideologies that influence broad patterns of political change. Professor Vu illuminates how traditional scholarship on the Vietnam War commonly overlooks the agency and independent visions of the true diversity of political ideologies within Vietnam, and his expertise helps us understand the importance of the Communist Party Chief To Lam’s “spectacular” rise to power in the contemporary era.  At the Global Hearth, we hear Tuong’s perspective on how U.S. diplomacy efforts might influence human rights in Vietnam, and explore the question of what modern scholars and activists might learn from the U.S. anti-war movement of the late 20th century.  Quick Links Ho Chi Minh Madame Nhu New York Times article: Vietnam’s Leader Has New Power, and He’s in a Hurry U.S.-Vietnam Research Center  The Vietnamese Áo Dài in a Time of War: Fashion, Citizenship, and Nationalism (1954–1975) The White Pebble: Madame Nhu’s Memoirs Trần, Lệ Xuân et al. The White Pebble : Madame Nhu’s Memoirs. Ed. Tuong Vu. Trans. Quang L. Phan and Maria Cristina de Mariassevich. Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech University Press, 2025. Print. Vietnam - Between communism and capitalism | DW Documentary The General – Vietnam in the Age of To Lam | Documentary  Singer-Songwriter: Do Nguyen Mai Khoi  Tuong Vu’s Google Scholar page Still hungry?  Saigon Cafe – Eugene, Oregon  Pho the Good Times – Eugene, Oregon “Shostakovich; Symphony No. 5, 1.” Creazilla. Lastly, remember to follow University of Oregon Global Ducks on LinkedIn, and your questions, comments, insights (and favorite poetry!) are welcomed via email to [email protected]. Thank you for joining us at the Global Hearth.