Vietnam - East Asia Cultural Exchange

Over three days (May 15-17, 2012), nearly 70 delegates from more than 10 countries attended and discussed 21 reports (12 reports by international scholars and 9 reports by Vietnamese researchers) at the conference “Vietnam-East Asia Cultural Exchange: A Historical, Social and Anthropological Perspective”. The main topics discussed included: Socio-economic transformations in ancient and medieval Vietnam under the impact of regional trade; the adoption of technology, religion, ideology and culture in Vietnam through regional exchange; the maritime mindset of the Vietnamese people through the study of the works of scholar Le Quy Don; reformist thought in Vietnam in the context of East Asia through the case study of the Nguyen Dynasty's Imperial Examinations; Vietnam's position in the cultural currents of ethnic groups in East Asia; and the issue of religion and beliefs in Vietnam in the context of East Asia… In his closing remarks, Professor... Professor Ho Tai Hue Tam (Harvard-Yenching Institute) and Associate Professor Pham Quang Minh (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) emphasized the significant scientific achievements attained during the three-day discussion and pledged to continue collaborating on in-depth scientific activities in the future. For many years, the Harvard-Yenching Institute of Harvard University has been an important scientific and training partner of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi). The Institute has hosted numerous faculty members from the University for teaching and research, and has collaborated on many in-depth scientific activities in the United States and Vietnam. This conference is one of those regular scientific activities.