Promoting interdisciplinary research on highland history

In constructionVietnamese History and Culture: A Partial Approach, Vietnamese History, the late Professor Phan Huy Le discovered the principle of Multi-Linear, Comprehensive and Complete in Vietnamese history. Accordingly, this is "the history of national communities, residential communities, and ethnic groups that have lived in the present-day territory of Vietnam and have contributed to the historical process of Vietnam". Over the past half century, modern Vietnamese history has gradually realized this principle, for example, through the addition of the historical flows of Sa Huynh - Lam Ap - Champa in the Central region and Dong Nai - Oc Eo - Phu Nam in the South. However, studies on the historical space of the highlands and mountainous areas in Vietnam are still quite modest. In that context, the scientific conference "Research on the highlands of Vietnam: History and interdisciplinary approaches" was organized as an effort to supplement and determine the position of the highlands in the historical flow of Vietnam.

The workshop received 22 scientific papers from 23 researchers from major scientific institutions in Hanoi, focusing on the following basic contents: discussing basic concepts, theories and methods of researching the history of Vietnam's highlands; clarifying aspects of content, approaches and achievements in researching the history of Vietnam's highlands from History, Anthropology, Archaeology, Cultural Studies, Literature, Han Nom Studies...; clarifying the role and position of the highlands in the historical process of Vietnam, regional relationships such as upper - lower, mountains - plains - coasts... in politics, economy, society and culture of Vietnam; discussing the organization method, direction of activities and expected research and training products of the research group.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thi Minh Hoa delivered the opening speech at the workshop.

Opening the workshop, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Minh Hoa shared that research on the highlands of Vietnam has been of interest to scientists at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities since early on, such as research on the Lam Son Uprising and Tay Son Thuong Dao after 1975. These are valuable sources of documents, laying the foundation for future research on the highlands of Vietnam. This workshop will add new research in many specialized fields other than History such as Anthropology, Cultural Studies, and Literature on the highlands of Vietnam. Therefore, the workshop was initially successful in creating a forum for academic exchange between researchers interested in the history of the highlands of Vietnam, while affirming the trend of interdisciplinary research in the Social Sciences and Humanities of the Faculty of History as well as the University in general.

Dr. Do Thi Thuy Lan gave an introductory speech.

In her opening remarks at the conference, Dr. Do Thi Thuy Lan (Faculty of History) stated that the reports presented at the conference had rich scientific content on religion, politics, state policies, national defense borders, etc., spanning from the northern mountainous region to the Truong Son - Tay Nguyen region and the lower Mekong Delta. The reports outlined a dynamic, proactive, rich and connected highland region of Vietnam. Thereby, the history of the highlands is presented not only as a mechanical addition to the discrete issues and spaces in the territory of Vietnam, but as a perspective from the mountains, from the highlands, but in a network connecting diverse regions within and even outside the territory of modern Vietnam.

Delegates taking souvenir photos

After the opening session, the conference continued with 4 sessions divided into 2 research areas: Northern mountainous region, Central region and Truong Son - Tay Nguyen. The presentations covered a variety of political fields (mountainous power systems based on terrain elevation, such as the local chieftainship regime in the North; Upper Champa, Thuy Xa, Hoa Xa Gia Rai in the Central Highlands, the local Bahnar chieftainship regime in Kon Tum...), economics (studies on mining, the medicinal trade network of the contemporary Dao people in the North, the system of historical riverine exchange networks in the South...), culture-society (material vestiges of Champa in the Central Highlands, pagodas, stele inscriptions, kilns, Buddhist wharves in both the Northwest and Northeast of Dai Viet during the Ly - Tran period (11th - 14th centuries)...)