Have you ever wondered about seemingly small and familiar things in life: why do we eat rice, eat fish sauce... but not bread, drink milk or soy sauce? Why do we wear this costume while other ethnic groups wear different costumes? What is a stilt house? What is a thatched house with mud walls?... Or why do we worship our ancestors? What is a communal house/pagoda/temple/shrine/palace/palace...? Why are there customs such as giving lucky money, wishing a happy new year, even abstaining from sweeping the house, sweeping the trash on Tet holiday?... Or customs in weddings and funerals are different in each place... These are all cultural values; and in each land, each ethnic group, these values have their own unique features, very rich and attractive. Learning about culture is to understand cultural values from familiar daily life to more general issues such as cultural space, cultural industry, cultural identity, cultural integration and globalization...; from there, have an attitude of respecting traditional culture, being aware of preserving and promoting cultural values in the current social context; as well as respecting the cultural values of other ethnic groups, in other spaces.
The Department of Cultural Studies was officially opened at the Faculty of History, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU since 2020, on the basis of the major of Vietnamese Cultural History under the Department of History since 2000 and with the teaching staff of the Department of Cultural Studies (originally named Department of Vietnamese Cultural History) - a unit established in 1998, with Professor Tran Quoc Vuong as Head.
Since its establishment, the Department of Cultural Studies has begun teaching the general subject of Vietnamese Cultural Foundations for units under VNU in the spirit of the Ministry of Education and Training: "Strengthening education for youth and students about national cultural values and Vietnamese cultural heritage, enhancing national pride and awareness of heritage protection”; at the same time, the major of Vietnamese Cultural History is opened for students majoring in History who love and are passionate about learning about culture. Students majoring in Vietnamese Cultural History will study a general History major for 3 years, and in the 4th year, they will be divided into majors to study more deeply about cultural subjects based on the knowledge of the History major such as: Cultural heritage; Religion, beliefs and festivals; Customs and practices; Cultural contact and exchange; Cultural space; Folk culture; Ethnic culture; Gender culture... The major of Vietnamese Cultural History has been maintained and trained for 25 years now, with more than 500 students having graduated.
Students majoring in Vietnamese Cultural History do graduation internship in Da Nang-Hoi An
From the development of the major of Vietnamese Cultural History, at the same time further expanding the training majors as well as meeting the demand for high-quality cultural human resources of society, in 2020, the Cultural Studies training program - an interdisciplinary, modern and highly practical training program, equipping students with fundamental and in-depth knowledge of Vietnamese and world culture in the context of globalization - was officially opened at the Faculty of History.
The training program is designed to be interdisciplinary and modern, helping students expand their critical thinking, research and creativity in the cultural field. Students majoring in Cultural Studies have access torich and diverse cultural fields, such as: Folk culture; Ethnic culture; Cultural elements:religion, beliefs, customs, practices, holidays, festivals, etc.;Contemporary issues:cultural heritage, cultural and creative industries, culture and media, cultural integration and exchange in the digital age,...
Students can choose to develop their expertise in the following majors:
- Cultural studies
- Cultural management
- Cultural industry
- Heritage economics
In addition to theory, students are focused on developing practical skills through learning activities linked to reality. Many courses such asCultural heritage,Cultural industry, Cultural community and practice, Cultural institutions, Cultural contact and exchange...Organize learning in open lecture halls such as surveys at localities, museums, cultural and creative centers... Students start practical internships from the second year with the subjectCultural practice(internship time about 7-9 days), and a graduation internship in the fourth year (Internship period is about 10-14 days) to practice professional skills and orient the future.
K65 Cultural Studies students practice the Cultural Institutions course at the Museum of Ethnology
K67 Cultural students practice the course Vietnamese Cultural Foundationsat the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam
K65 Cultural Studies students graduate internship in Hue
K66 Cultural Studies students graduate internship in My Son, Quang Nam
Training in Cultural Studies at the Faculty of History is undertaken by a team ofhighly qualified faculty,enthusiasm in teachingof the Faculty of History, in which the most direct and closest are the teachers of the Department of Cultural Studies; at the same timeThe training program also receives regular, responsible cooperation from theleading researcherfrom:Institute of Cultural Studies,Institute of Ethnology (under theVietnam Academy of Social Sciences);Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts; Hanoi University of Culture, experts from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourismwith many other cultural and artistic organizations.
Full-time lecturer of the Department of Cultural Studies on a survey in Ninh Binh in 2025
With training orientations includingCultural Studies, Cultural Management, Cultural Industries and Heritage Economics, the program aims to trainhigh quality human resources, capable of working in many fields such as research, teaching, cultural management, communication, tourism, heritage conservation, development of cultural and creative products,...
Students majoring in Cultural Studies and students majoring in Vietnamese Cultural History can continue to improve their qualifications at the postgraduate level with two majors: Master of Cultural Studies, Master of Cultural Management and Doctor of Cultural Management at the Faculty of History, University of Social Sciences and Humanities; as well as opportunities to study at other training units in and outside the country.
With the motto "learn to understand - learn to create - learn to integrate"The Department of Cultural Studies at the Faculty of History, University of Social Sciences and Humanities aims to train human resources with solid professional capacity, open thinking and flexible adaptability, ready to contribute to the sustainable development of culture and society.
Official dispatch No. 173/VP dated January 10, 1995 of the Ministry of Education and Training.
