“ABOVE EXCELLENT” Speech by Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh, Principal of the School at the 60th Anniversary Ceremony of the Faculty of History

Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh (Rector of University of Social Sciences and Humanities) spoke at the ceremony

1. According to Herodotus (484-425 BC), the famous ancient Greek historian, history is what belongs to the past. But history is also what belongs to the future. Because no one can build the future without any historical foundation. For that reason, it can be said that no science can be compared to the science of history, because as a professor in the Introduction to Archaeology class in 1978 told me and the first-year students who had just stepped into the lecture hall of the History Department of the University: "What is mathematics, what is literature, there is only history because history is life". It was that somewhat simple and yet different comparison that made us initially vaguely understand the importance of history, and therefore like history more and confidently look towards the future.

2. The past 60 years have been a glorious journey, from the "foundation building period" in the 1950s, through the "heroic resistance period" and heroic sacrifices in the 1960s - 1970s, to the "renovation, opening up, and integration period", the Faculty of History has become a leading prestigious historical training and research address in the country. The Faculty has become the only heroic Faculty of the heroic school. Thus, our History Faculty is a twice heroic faculty. Talking about the former University of Social Sciences and Humanities without mentioning the History Faculty is a shortcoming, like going to Hanoi without visiting Hoan Kiem Lake, going to Moscow without visiting Red Square, or going to Beijing without visiting Tiananmen Square. Of course, the Faculty of History would not be what it is today, if it were not located in the former General University and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities today. For example, when talking about the Pyramids, people associate them with Egyptian civilization, One Thousand and One Nights with Persia or the Incas, the owners of the civilization that spread across South America.

3. At such a significant historical moment, as a person who studies, loves and researches history, I hope we can do more not only for history but also for the present and future of history. Let's find ways to inspire the passion for history in future generations like we did when we studied it. Let's have history textbooks that every high school student can read enthusiastically, discuss and tell each other enthusiastically. Let's have more historical research works awarded international prizes that we have so far lacked. Let Vietnamese libraries and research centers have works by Vietnamese historians, not just works by David Marr, Keith Taylor, Stein Tonnesson, Daniel Emery, Philip Devillers, Pierre Brocheux or Deopik, Furuta Motoo and Christopher Goscha. Finally, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Faculty of History, please allow me to express my respect and gratitude to generations of teachers and students who have made the name of the heroic Faculty of History and wish our Faculty to always be worthy of that heroic title. If I had to say one word about the Faculty of History, the word I would say would not be “wonderful” but “beyond wonderful.”