Minutes 2016
Vietnam Studies Group Annual Meeting April 2, 2016
1) Self-introductions of the Chair and Board members
Present: Michele Thompson (outgoing chair), Christina Firpo (treasurer and incoming chair), Erik Harms, Cari Coe, Judith Henchy, Miriam Lam, Christina Schwenkel, Ed Miller (Secretary)
2) VSG Meeting attendees self introduction
Nguyen Quoc Vinh (Harvard), Ann Marie, Ken McLean, Mark Hammer (SIT), Huong, Nguyen Thi Huong, Janet Hoskins, HTHT, Ben Kerkliviet, Trung, Chris Giebel, Nu-Anh, Peter Zinoman,
3) Minutes for 2015 (already approved)
4) Chair’s Report on SEAC meeting (Michele Thompson)
VSG got funds for $500 to expand the travel stipend to the Grad Student Prize (contingent on them attending the AAS meeting). George Dutton talked about the selection process for AAS (panels and individual papers), which is surprisingly complicated. The AAS allots percentages for different geographic areas. The percentage for each area varies each year. It depends on how many panel submissions the AAS receives. The more panel proposals an area submits, the more panels are accepted. To increase chances of acceptance, include a wide range of scholarly ranks (junior to senior), range of institutions, and multiple disciplines. Diversity with regards to gender is not considered.
SEAC is asking for a second representative on the AAS program committee. (China currently has three.)
5) Treasurer's report (Christina Firpo)
The year 2015 began with $4,363 and we debited 2,354.65. VSG took in $2,508 in membership dues and AAS contributions. We ended the year with $4,517.
Distributed forms for donations.
6) Report on the list serve and website (Judith Henchey)
There are currently around 1000 people on the VSG list serv. The website has recently been moved to Google Sites. Update the new site with officers and minutes. Also: VSG bibliographies.
Scholar’s Directory: there is a new interface that is easier to use. Judith recently called on people to update using the new form link. New “Books and Journals” section. Olga Dror and Wynn Wilcox are using the list to compile list of new Vietnam-themed publications. Judith has begun transferring these entries into a Zotero database, which includes a section on “Member Publications.” Judith has also set up a separate Zotero themed database, entitled “Themes Under Discussion,” which captures references to newspaper, magazine articles, journals, blogposts, etc. that are referenced in threads on the list.
Judith is also updating the archives of “significant discussions” on all subjects on the VSG list.
7) Report on Texas Tech University Conference (Michele Thompson)
“A Medical History of the Vietnam War.” Michele attended. Veterinary medicine during the VN War. Panel on North Vietnamese medicine. A lot of personal reminscences. All presentations are up on the TTU website in video format.
8) JVS
Zinoman: JVS now paperless (electronic only), as per UC Press’s standards. Great issue published this week, including: an article by Martina Nguyen, origin of Ao Dai, Sean Fear (Cornell) on memory of Ngo Dinh Diem in 2nd Republic, and a roundtable on Christian Appy’s American Reckoning. Also a review of Logevall, Embers of War.
Michele asked: JVS should announce when electronic version has been published?
Ben K. asked: why hasn’t the price gone down, if its now all online? Peter doesn’t know, he will look into it.
9) AAS 2017, Toronto (Michele Thompson)
a) Call for panel proposals for VSG sponsorship.
AAS Deadline About 8/1/16 VSG Deadline About 7/1/16
Any people looking to form panel proposals can use VSG list serv. Also AAS website also has an area where you can look for collaborators.
b) VSG Pre-AAS Conference in Toronto?
Will we do this? Its not yet clear if we will. In the past, we have done this at Temple in philly, and at UCR prior to San Diego.
Michele proposes: authorize $1000
Ken seconds. Passed unanimously.
10) New business, old business, discussion and votes where applicable
a) Continued subsidy from VSG for the Website and List serve. Suggest $1,000.
Motion: $1000 to support the work on the site and serv. (A bit more than past years, due to extra recent work.) McHale seconded. Unanimous.
b) Support for VSG Graduate Student Prize. Suggest $500 plus voluntary contributions from members.
Passed unanimously
c) Call for voluntary donations for 2016 (Christina Firpo)
d) Other new business?
Olga and Wynn: need someone to volunteer to help them in compiling and post new publications to the list serv. Judith suggested that people should feel free to just post publication announcements themselves.
11) Announcements and news
a) Winner of the VSG graduate student paper prize, (Christina Firpo)
· Anh Sy Huy Le, Michigan State University “A Personalist Revolution: Regime of Migration and Resettlement in the first republic of Vietnam, 1954-1956”
b) Winner of the VSG Travel Grants. (Ed Miller)
· Nguyen Quoc Vinh, “Cultural Ambiguity in Contemporary Vietnamese Representations of Homosexuality: A New Historicist Reading of Bùi Anh Tấn’s Fiction.”
· Matthew Berry, “Did the Hung Kings Establish the Country or did the Party Establish the Hung Kings? A Critical Examination of Socialist Archaeology in the DRV (1958-1971)”
· John Phan, “Constructing Orthodoxy: The role of Chữ Nôm in the 17th century establishment of a conventional Sino-Vietnamese lexicon”
c) Announcement of Awards
· Ann Marie Leshkowich, winner of 2016 Benda Prize.
· Peter Zinoman, Phan Chu Trinh Award
d) Upcoming conferences and Workshops?
· Liam Kelly, “Engaging with Vietnam: An Interdisciplinary Dialog.” In Vietnam last summer. Brings out a lot of young people, especially young Vietnamese scholars who are studying graduate overseas. October 6-7, 2016: Engaging VN through the Arts and Scholarship, Hawaii. All of the keynote speakers: artists and musicians. Info and deadline for submissions: engagingwithVietnam.net
· John Phan: Workshop on Buddhist literacy. Focused on microhistory of a temple outside of Hanoi, some texts found there. Weekend of Sept. 21, 2016 Rutgers University.
· Firpo: IIAS conference in February 2017 on Korea-Vietnam.
· Erik: May 6-7: conference on SCS at Yale. Tran Quoc Anh Son organizing. If you want to attend, email Erik:
12) Other announcements and news from members.
· Michele: has a book coming out, co-editing a volume Translating the Body, NUS.
· Firpo published her book, The Uprooted (Hawaii, January 2016); JVS article on A Dao singers and prostitution (Summer 2016)
· John D. Phan; article in Journal of World Literature
· Pamela McElwee published her book Forest Circle (UW press)
· Erik Harms: UC Press in fall: open access Luxury and Rebels.
· Viet Thanh Nguyen’s book, Nothing Ever Dies.
13) Michele is stepping down as Chair, thanks to all of the members of VSG for making this such a successful three year term. Christina Firpo comes in as Chair of the VSG Ex Comm, David Biggs who cannot be with us, will become Treasurer. Michele will remain on the Ex Comm as Ex-Offcio former Chair.
14) Other business.
Expression of thanks to Michele Thomson for her long service to VSG.
Shawn McHale: cuts to faculty positions in Southeast Asia (including Vietnam). Ben Kerkvliet: One school within the school of Asia-Pacific. Philip Taylor (four books in last ten years)—worried about his job. VNese language instruction is at risk, also Chinese, Tibetan, Korean.
Erik: Authorize the Excomm to draft and send a motion. Unanimous.
Meeting adjourned 2:06pm.