TTLA: Cultural changes and community cohesion today: a case study of the Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh province

INFORMATION ABOUT DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name of the researcher:Nguyen Thi Hang    

2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: April 8, 1982

4. Place of birth: Hoa Binh

5. Decision on recognition of PhD students No. 1212/QD-SDH dated December 28, 2009 of the Director of Hanoi National University.

6. Changes in training process: No

7. Thesis topic name:Cultural changes and community cohesion today: a case study of the Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh province.

8. Major: Sociology Code: 62.31.30.01

10. Scientific instructor:Prof. Dr. Dang Canh Khanh,Assoc.Prof.Dr. Trinh Van Tung

11. Summary of new results of the thesis:

First, nperceive and study the Muong ethnic culture as a system composed of three types: public culture, traditional culture and social culture. Previously, the type of public culture was often grouped together with traditional culture, but now the author has boldly separated it into a separate field, parallel to traditional culture and public culture. The basic manifestations of public culture investigated, surveyed and presented in this thesis are behavioral patterns, social roles expressed in relationships between people from family, clan, to village relationships and community organizations of the Muong people in Hoa Binh.

Monday,Research on Muong culture in transformation. Up to now, there have been many authors with research works on Muong people and Muong culture. However, most of these works only stop at describing the patterns, models, and details of Muong culture that have been shaped in history, that is, researching culture in a static form by separating each element and abstracting them for analysis, but few people have delved into researching Muong culture in its vivid forms in its operation and transformation. In today's research, as the title of the thesis clearly indicates, is the research on Muong culture in transformation. Therefore, the author has focused on the operation of Muong culture in the Doi Moi period with all its different manifestations (such as cultural exchange, contact and acculturation, as well as its internal contradictions and conflicts in the process of transformation). That means the thesis studies culture in a "dynamic" form, not in a "static" form like many published works.

Third, the comparison highlights the differences between the study areas that can be considered as a convincing evidence for the theory of cultural diffusion. In the “peripheral” areas, where there is more exchange and contact with the peripheral culture, cultural adaptation is also more intense. In addition, the application of an interdisciplinary approach (ethnology, sociology, cultural studies) to highlight different aspects of the transformation from tradition to modernity is also a new point of this study.

Finally, and also the most important contribution of the thesis - is to study the mutual relationship between cultural changes expressed on the surface (expressed through material culture, social culture and spiritual culture) and the hidden cultural feature in the depths, which is community cohesion, an attribute that creates the cultural identity of the Muong people of Hoa Binh in the Doi Moi period. The study of this mutual relationship has shown that the operation and cultural transformation of the Muong people today not only helps the Muong people integrate more and more deeply with other ethnic groups in Vietnam as well as in the world, but also the Muong cultural identity is increasingly promoted and developed.

12. Practical application:

The author's research results have provided some important policy suggestions to preserve and promote the cultural identity of the Muong ethnic group.

13. Further research directions:

In-depth research on the transformation of each cultural element and the community cohesion contained within it.

14. Published works related to the thesis:

- Nguyen Thi Hang (2015), "Spiritual Culture in the Residential Area of ​​Muong People in Hoa Binh",Journal of Theoretical Education(227), pp. 75-78.

- Nguyen Thi Hang (2015), “Organization of social life of the Muong people: from tradition to modernity”,Journal of Science, Hanoi National University of Education (5), pp.122-128.

INFORMATION ON DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name: Nguyen Thi Hang 2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: April 8, 1982 4. Place of birth: Hoa Binh

5. Admission decision number: 1212/QD-SĐH, dated December 28^th, 2009, issued by Director of Viet Nam National University, Hanoi.

6. Changes in academic process: None

7. Official thesis title: Change on culture and community cohesion nowadays (a case study on Muong Group in Hoa Binh Province).

8. Major: Sociology Code: 62.31.30.01

9. Supervisors: Prof.PhD.Dang Canh Khanh,A.Prof.PhD. Trinh Van Tung

10. Summary of new findings of the thesis:

Firstly, viewing and researching on Muong ethnic culture as a system that is constituted from three forms: physical culture, spiritual culture and social culture. In the past, the social culture was merged with spiritual culture, but now the author has strongly split it out into an individual area, existing in parallel with the spiritual and physical cultures. The basic expressions of social culture that are investigated, investigated and presented in this thesis are patterns of behavior, social roles shown in social relationships among men from families, relatives to social community relations of Muong people in Hoa Binh.

Secondly, Muong culture studies in transformation. Up to now, there have been several authors with research works on Muong group and Muong culture. Neverthless, almost all the works have only stopped at describing the patterns, models and details of Muong culture, which has been shaped up during the history, that means the culture studies were at static state with separating each factor and abstracting these factors for analysis rather than in depth research of Muong culture at vivid forms in its movement and transformation. In this research, as stated clearly in the thesis title, it is to research about Muong culture in the transformation. Therefore, the writer has focused on the movement of the Muong culture in the Reform time with all its different expressions (e,g. cultural exchange, contact and performance as well as cultural intrinsic conflicts in the transformation), that means cultural research in the “animation”, not in the “static” as mentioned in many published works

Thirdly, the comparison to highlight the distinctions among the research locations can be considered as persuasive evidence for the theory of cultural diffusion. In the “periphery” areas, where more exchange and contact with peripheral cultures take places, are the areas where the acculturation takes place more strongly.

Finally, the author has combined the qualitative method and quantitative method in order to measure cultural change and community coherence in the thesis. This can be seen as a creation method that has never appeared in the research studies about Muong group so far. The author at the same time has chosen the interdisciplinary approach: ethnography, sociology and cultural anthropology, thereby to highlight different aspects of the transformation of from tradition to present.

11. Practical applicability, if any:

The research results of the author have made some important suggestions for policy to preserve and promote the cultural identity of the Muong Group.

12. Further research directions, if any:

Comprehensive study on the changes of each cultural component and community cohension which embodied in it.

13. Thesis-related publications:

- Nguyen Thi Hang (2015), “Spritual culture in the residence of the Muong People in Hoa Binh province”, Education – Theory Magazine (227), pp. 75-78.

- Nguyen Thi Hang (2015), “Organizing of Muong People's Society: from tradition to modern”, Science Magazine under Hanoi National University of Education (5), pp.122-128.