Ethnic issues in the development orientation of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

1. Introduction

The Faculty of Anthropology was established in May 2015, based on the Department of Anthropology, which before March 2010 was a department of the Faculty of History of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Despite being a new unit, the Faculty of Anthropology has a tradition of over 55 years of training and research in ethnology within the prestigious Hanoi University. Building on this tradition, the Faculty of Anthropology was established and has become the only unit in Vietnam currently offering systematic anthropology training at all three levels, from undergraduate to doctoral (undergraduate since 2009, master's since 2013, and doctoral since 2014). With its three departments, the Faculty has a staff of 15 full-time employees, including 13 lecturers and 2 assistant specialists. In addition to its permanent staff, the Faculty has gathered and utilized the contributions and expertise of nearly 20 highly qualified and reputable scientists to participate in the Faculty's training and research activities.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Suu – Head of the Department of Anthropology, presents flowers to thank generations of teachers and leaders of the University on the occasion of the announcement of the decision to establish the Department of Anthropology. Source: Photo archives of the Department of Anthropology.

To formulate a highly sustainable development strategy for the Faculty's new phase, reviewing history and assessing the current situation is a necessary but challenging task. This article presents reflections, outlines, and positions the issue of ethnic minorities.[1]This article is part of the development orientation of the Department of Anthropology for the period 2015-2020 and the vision for 2030. It is a continuation of the two papers we presented at the Ethnology Conference organized by the Institute of Ethnology in 2012 and 2014, aiming to further clarify the history, current status, and development orientation of an anthropology research and training unit in Vietnam over the past half-century and in the years to come.

2. The Ethnic Question: Historical Practice

From a global perspective, anthropology exists with traditions bearing different names in different countries (Nguyen Van Suu, 2014: pp. 15-51; Aleksandar Boskovic and Thomas Hylland Eriksen, 2010: pp. 1-19). The Soviet ethnographic tradition.[2]and its legacy in Vietnam[3]Similarly, in some former socialist countries, ethnic groups were identified as objects of study, or as author Dang Nghiem Van asserts: as a specialized field within the category of historical science, ethnology studies ethnic groups and their cultures (Dang Nghiem Van [editor], 1998: pp. 3 and 6). The historical practice of Vietnamese ethnology in the latter half of the 20th century confirms that ethnic groups occupy a central position in all research, teaching, and policy application activities.[4]As the first unit in Vietnam to conduct research and teach ethnology following the Soviet ethnological tradition, the Department of Ethnology[5]The Department of History at Hanoi University also focuses on researching and teaching about ethnic groups in Vietnam and has made important contributions to the State and society.[6]

International Anthropology Conference in Vietnam, September 2015. Source: Archival photo from the Department of Anthropology.

Entering the 21st century, in the process of reform and international integration, the training programs, research activities, and organizational structure of the Department of Ethnology have been transformed according to the North American anthropological tradition. As a result, the Faculty of Anthropology has been established and is currently carrying out research and training in anthropology at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

3. Ethnic issues in development orientation

Determining the development direction of the Faculty of Anthropology needs to be placed within the framework of the overall development direction of Vietnam National University, Hanoi and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities under it. In recent years, several world university rankings have positioned Vietnam National University, Hanoi as number one among universities in Vietnam, and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities under Vietnam National University, Hanoi, has topped the list of higher education institutions in the field of social sciences and humanities in Vietnam.[7]Both Vietnam National University, Hanoi and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities have set the goal of becoming a research university with an even higher ranking in regional and global university rankings by 2030.

As a unit specializing in basic science education, the Faculty of Anthropology has a proud tradition, having built upon and further developed it, while also recognizing its responsibility to innovate in order to stay ahead of the curve, to be a pioneer in fulfilling its mission of integration, and to improve the quality of research and training in the context of numerous changes occurring not only at the national and regional levels but also globally.

Workshop on Socio-Cultural Change in Urban Areas, March 2014. Source: Archival photo from the Department of Anthropology.

This perspective guides the main activities of the Faculty of Anthropology during its development period from 2015-2020 and its vision for 2030. Based on this, the goal of the Faculty of Anthropology is to continue striving to become a leading center for anthropology.It involves a harmonious combination of theory and practice, qualitative and quantitative methods, and basic and applied research.[8]To train professional anthropologists at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Within the framework of the Faculty's general orientation and specific development goals, the issue of ethnicity is identified as having an important position in the Faculty's research, training, and policy application. Continuing to place the issue of ethnicity in a prominent position in many of the Faculty of Anthropology's activities is both a continuation and inheritance of tradition.[9]This demonstrates the Anthropology Department's concern for the practical needs of the country's life.[10]It also partly reflects the common concerns of anthropology in countries across the region.[11]

4. Action Plans

To achieve the above objectives, the Department of Anthropology has been implementing a series of action plans that are both comprehensive and groundbreaking in key areas of operation.The firstFirst, we need to define the position of the ethnic issue within the overall structure of the Faculty. As introduced above, anthropology at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, has the status of an independent discipline, with training provided within the Faculty of Anthropology, comprising three departments named after the specialized fields of study: Department of Cultural Anthropology, Department of Socio-Economic Anthropology, and Department of Development Anthropology.[12]Within the Faculty's organizational structure, the issue of ethnicity is identified as one of the research directions, teaching content, and areas of practice and policy application for each department in particular and the entire Faculty in general.

MondayEthnicity is a key issue in our research orientation. In the process of transforming and developing the field of anthropology and establishing the Faculty of Anthropology, we do not consider extensive research on ethnicity a limitation. Instead, in the context of a multi-ethnic nation like Vietnam, and similar to other countries in the region, extensive research on ethnicity (rather than race, as in some multi-ethnic countries) has provided researchers with a unique academic position and a significant policy voice compared to scientists in other disciplines. The list of research directions of the Faculty of Anthropology currently and in the coming years, as shown in Table 1 below, clearly defines this orientation. Accordingly, ethnicity, which is an integral part of our traditional identity, continues to be a part of the present and future identity of the Faculty of Anthropology.

Table 1: Main research areas of the Department of Anthropology

However, in the long term, research and training on ethnic groups need to transcend the limitations of tradition, which has focused heavily on studying ethnic groups and cultures within national borders. In the history of world anthropology, alongside the trend in developed European and American countries of studying ethnic groups and cultures outside national borders, another common trend in developing countries is anthropology at home, primarily studying ethnic groups and cultures within the country with the goal of contributing to the nation-building process and national identity (Aleksandar Boskovic and Thomas Hylland Eriksen, 2010: pp. 13-15). In the context of increasingly strong globalization, Vietnam has been continuously integrating with the region and the world. Vietnamese anthropology in general, and the Department of Anthropology at Hanoi National University in particular, needs to reconcile these two trends by paying more due attention to the ethnic groups and cultures of ethnic groups in countries in the region.[13]Especially since East Asian and Southeast Asian countries have had and continue to have close relationships with Vietnam in the fields of politics, economics, security and defense, science and education, etc.

In this context, the Department of Anthropology's research on ethnicity cannot be confined to traditional research areas, but must extend to encompass countries in the region. Following this direction, expanding the research scope is a priority for both faculty and students, especially postgraduate students. For faculty members, conducting research projects related to cross-border spaces and exploring ethnic groups and cultures in countries in the region not only opens a new chapter in their research on ethnicity but also guides student research, particularly given the increasing number of international students in the Department of Anthropology. Based on this, research on ethnicity will not only continue to occupy an important position but will also develop in a direction that expands the research scope, creating a new dimension in the study of ethnicity within the Department of Anthropology.

TuesdayEthnicity is a key issue in education. In the context of building a research university, where one of the fundamental principles of the Humboldt model is that research and teaching are a unified whole (Ngo Bao Chau, Pierre Dariulat, Cao Huy Thuan, Hoang Tuy, Nguyen Xuan Xanh, Pham Xuan Yem, 2014), research activities must be linked to and serve education. During the process of developing, adjusting, updating, and implementing undergraduate and postgraduate training programs, the Faculty of Anthropology remains committed to the goal of equipping students with fundamental and in-depth knowledge of anthropology, with an emphasis on the content related to ethnicity in the training program.[14]and in specific training activities to ensure that learners have sufficient knowledge and capacity to conduct research, teach about ethnic groups, and work with ethnic groups.

Table 2: Ethnic issues in some training activities

WednesdayEthnic issues are a key aspect of the faculty development strategy. To achieve the goal of continuing to place ethnic groups at the center of the Faculty of Anthropology's activities, it is clear that the Faculty pays due attention to planning, training, and investing in a faculty, especially heads of departments, who are experts on ethnic issues. Simultaneously, the Faculty of Anthropology continues to strengthen its part-time faculty, expand its network of visiting lecturers, collaborators, and partner organizations interested in ethnic issues.

5. Conclusion

To date, the Department of Anthropology has a tradition of over half a century of research, training, and policy application. In the history of the Department's establishment and development, the ethnographic tradition has served as the foundation for the birth and development of anthropology and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

During the transition from ethnology to anthropology, from the Department of Ethnology to the Faculty of Anthropology, the faculty and staff of the Faculty have always been aware of the importance of reviewing history, assessing the current situation, and on that basis positioning themselves within a national, regional, and global vision to outline future development directions. Throughout this process, the issue of ethnicity has been placed at the forefront of the Faculty of Anthropology's key activities for the period 2015-2020 and the vision for 2030, not only because it is an inherent part of tradition, but also because it is a matter of significant academic importance closely related to the nation and its people. The issue of ethnicity holds a crucial position in the Faculty's development orientation and is concretized into actionable solutions in key areas such as organizational structure, research, training, and policy application for the period 2015-2020 and the vision for 2030.

References

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