Cultural Studies: Respecting Differences

Culture is the whole creation and invention of human beings, for survival, the purpose of life. Culture is the superstructure so it holds a very special position. Therefore, when talking about culture, we must talk about core values, the quintessence. Culture shows the height and depth of development level, culture is both the driving force and the development goal of each community, of the whole country. In the National Cultural Conference (1946), President Ho Chi Minh affirmed the particularly important role of Culture: "Culture lights the way for the nation to go".

In 1956, Hanoi University of Science was established, the major of Cultural Studies gradually took shape in the structure of research and training of Interdisciplinary History of the Faculty of History. Many great cultural figures such as Professor Tran Duc Thao, Professor Tran Van Giau, Professor Dao Duy Anh, Professor Cao Xuan Huy, Professor Pham Huy Thong, Professor Dinh Xuan Lam, Professor Phan Huy Le, Professor Tran Quoc Vuong, Professor Ha Van Tan... were all teachers who directly taught the opening lessons on Cultural Studies and Vietnamese Cultural History to the first generations of students of the Faculty of History.3

In 1998, after more than 40 years of careful preparation, the DepartmentVietnamese cultural history(later renamed toCultural Studies and History of Vietnamese Culture) was established, with the mission of researching and providing in-depth training in Cultural Studies and Vietnamese Cultural History. After more than 2 decades of development and growth, through domestic research, training, and fostering programs and international cooperation, the Department has built a team of highly prestigious and professional staff, including People's Teachers, Excellent Teachers, Senior Lecturers, Lecturers, Professors, Associate Professors, Doctors, Masters who can undertake most of the training content at all levels of Cultural Studies.

Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary science, so many issues of Vietnamese cultural history such as villages, cuisine, education, urban areas, gender, family, clans, etc. have been actively implemented and promoted by the Department of Research and Teaching at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. A series of publications by permanent staff or part-time experts of the Department have high professional quality and have had a wide influence such as:Following the ancient cultures(Ho Chi Minh Prize);Vietnamese History and Culture: A Cross-Section Approach(Ho Chi Minh Prize);On the land of thousands of years of culture;Vietnam cultural perspective;Vietnamese culture - research and contemplation(Ho Chi Minh Prize);Find the origin(State Award);Vietnamese Villages: Some Economic-Cultural-Social Issues(State Award);Vietnamese cultural foundation; Vietnamese history and culture from the perspective of innovation; Traditional Vietnamese cultural values;Rural and urban Vietnam: History, current situation and changing trends;Some issues of Vietnamese villages; Pluralistic and tight Vietnamese village;A traditional Vietnamese village in the Northern Delta; The central space of Thang Long Imperial Citadel: Documents and perceptions; Southern region; Nam Dinh geography; Dong Anh geography; Co Loa geography; Sa Huynh, Lam Ap, Champa from the 5th century BC to the 5th century AD; Sustainable development of Hanoi Capital; Thang Long - Hanoi education: Process, historical experience and development orientation; Preserving and promoting the value of historical and cultural heritage to serve tourism development… In addition, the Department of Cultural Studies also takes advantage of the strengths of a large university, with many professors from other majors such as Philosophy, Literature, Language, etc., as well as inviting many leading experts in Cultural Studies from research units such as the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts, the Institute of Cultural Studies, etc. to participate in the training program. In recent years, the number of students choosing the major of Cultural Studies and Vietnamese Cultural History has increased due to the attractiveness of the training program content as well as practical application and job opportunities.

Based on the achievements and accumulated experience, the Department of Cultural Studies and Vietnamese Cultural History has developed a training program, established a cooperative network with research institutes and organizations in the same field, and exchanged many lecturers and researchers domestically and internationally, aiming to approach international standards and meet the needs of recruitment agencies in Vietnam. The training program in Cultural Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities determines the direction of cultural training based on the strengths of basic science but with high applicability, in line with the development trend of the economy, culture and society domestically and internationally. This is the 7th Cultural Studies training institution in the country to officially grant a Bachelor's degree in Cultural Studies.

Compared to many other units that also train in the field of Culture, the Bachelor of Cultural Studies training program of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has more advantages to promote the value of basic sciences, harmoniously and effectively combine with applied sciences, meeting the needs of practical life. Students will learn about theories and methods of cultural research, applied in research, analysis, and interpretation of cultural elements (cuisine, costumes, housing, customs, religious beliefs, holidays, festivals...) to cultural issues in today's society (cultural contact and integration, heritage and heritage management, cultural industry, gender and sexuality issues...). Accordingly, learners will learn about the origin and nature of cultural values; recognize and evaluate the changes of cultural values ​​in the historical process, thereby evoking the message:Culture does not distinguish between high and low, it is just different and respecting the difference.

Thanks to the extensive cooperation between the School, Faculty and Department, the study of Cultural Studies students will not be "locked" in the classroom but will be "open" learning, linked with many units, practicing at historical and cultural relics, the system of museums from central to local or cultural and tourism companies, international organizations working on culture, cultural facilities and typical cultural spaces.

Students will study specialized subjects in English, creating opportunities for students to exchange and learn about this field of study abroad in the future. 90% of the faculty with postgraduate degrees in the Faculty have been trained in many countries, have cooperated with many prestigious universities, regularly invite leading researchers to lecture or cooperate in research. These international relationships will help students have the opportunity to get acquainted with an academic environment according to international standards. Students who love traditional cultural values ​​can choose specialized subjects in Han Nom, accordingly, students will study types of texts, at relics to be able to access and process Chinese documents such as steles, legends, decrees, village regulations... directly taught by leading experts in Han Nom at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. This is a distinct specialized training direction that the Cultural Studies industry pursues in an effort to preserve, disseminate, and maintain the values ​​of traditional culture.

The school and the History department also continuously update the curriculum system and specialized journals to serve the training work in the most practical and convenient way. In addition to the "hard" theoretical content, the lecturers will continuously update and include discussions on cultural issues in the world and Vietnam into the training program content such as cultural globalization, cultural industry, cultural identity, etc.

Cultural Studies itself is a highly comprehensive and interdisciplinary science, so students majoring in Cultural Studies can simultaneously study for a double degree in other majors within the University of Social Sciences and Humanities such as History, Literature, Journalism, Tourism, Languages, International Studies, Oriental Studies... or with other majors outside the University of Hanoi National University such as Economics, Education, Law, Foreign Languages...

In the roadmap to develop the Cultural Studies industry, in 2014, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities began to open a Master's program in Vietnamese Cultural History; in 2018, it opened a Master's program in Cultural Management. The Bachelor's program in Cultural Studies was introduced in the 2020-2021 academic year, not only meeting the comprehensive development needs of the industry, but it is also the basis for completing all levels of continuous training from Bachelor's to Master's and Doctorate in Cultural Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.