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research-article2020
JAS0010.1177/0021909620935410Journal of Asian and African StudiesNguyen and Hutnyk

Introduction
JAAS
Journal of Asian and African Studies

Sociology in Vietnam
2020, Vol. 55(6) 783­–785
© The Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/0021909620935410
https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909620935410
journals.sagepub.com/home/jas

Nguyen Minh Huan and John Hutnyk

Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ton Duc Thang University, Vietnam

In 1975, when Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, was liberated and the Americans, Australians and
other colonial armies had gone home, Vietnam set about reconstruction. It will not be a surprise to
anyone who might have reflected upon the consequence of long and brutal wars that the immediate
post-war years were difficult. Setting aside the small matter of military incursions from neighbour-
ing states, an economic embargo led by the US and in place until 1994, and a stagnant global
economy heading towards a long recession and the successive dilemmas of the 1997 Asian finan-
cial crisis, the 2000–2001 tech/dot.com bubble and the 2008 sub-prime crash, already since 1986
Vietnam had introduced economic reforms – Đổi Mới – that had put it on a path leading eventually
to significant and consistent growth and optimism that even Covid-19 does not seem to hugely
diminish (which of course remains to be seen).
However, the subject under focus here, sociology, for Vietnam, is a young science. In its modern
form, sociology in Vietnam was born later than in other countries and later than other social sci-
ences in Vietnam. Within the institutions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, contemporary soci-
ology was first taught in 1990 at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Hanoi.
Therefore, sociology in Vietnam up to now has been formed and developed for nearly 30 years but
compared with the US or France, it is nearly a century ‘late’ (though not if you count Marxist soci-
ology, which is of course highly relevant for Vietnam). In terms of training, there have been thou-
sands of bachelor’s and hundreds of master’s degrees granted, though there are fewer Doctors of
Sociology trained in Vietnam – a circumstance that is starting to change. However, it is notable that
so far there are only a few dissertations on sociological theory that put their emphasis upon the
history, formation and development of Vietnamese society. Books and textbooks about history and
theory in sociology are translated mainly from foreign languages. Also, there are not as many
sociological studies on Vietnam by Vietnamese published in prestigious international journals as
might be expected. It is our contention that this circumstance makes it clear that the efforts pres-
ently introduced show that sociology in Vietnam can advance separate and specific theoretical
studies to the Vietnamese context. More and additional scientific research will also be published in
reputable journals such as this, in order to further the premise and promise of developing sociology
in Vietnam as a discipline that has something to say to the global community.
In terms of economic growth, not only for having come through a turbulent history, Vietnam
must be respected. Its natural beauty and the long but committed struggle of its people show a
determination that must be the envy of many. Vietnam is increasingly an important and vocal
participant in almost all the global forums that befits a member of the family of nations, and it

Corresponding author:
John Hutnyk, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Email: johnhutnyk@tdtu.edu.vn
784 Journal of Asian and African Studies 55(6)

provides significant backing and fraternal support to like-minded nations as well as to its interna-
tional communities and allies. Vietnamese society reflects the ways the nation has taken its right-
ful place in the world, and its people are known for their hard work and expressive outlook.
Technological advances are located in state-of-the-art labs, conferences and forums of interna-
tional note and prestige are held on its many well-appointed campuses, its hospitals and transpor-
tation systems are advanced and improving, its courts and military are fair and fit for purpose, and
its universities have entered the world rankings with momentum to improve. There are, of course,
ongoing difficulties and problems of all kinds, and sociologists do have their hands full building
a robust scholarship to tackle socio-political issues and economic, cultural and environmental
developments both particular to Vietnam and as appropriate for an international and regional
player in Southeast Asia, wider Asia and the world as a whole.
Although some of the problems are well known and may be either briefly noted or better left to
scholars in international relations, government, anthropology, geography or environmental sci-
ence, we cannot omit recognition of certain concerns, which as sociologists we must address, but
which also overlap very much with wider interests and methodologies. The collection here does
not cover all topics, for example the current and legacy issues to do with the aftermath of war; the
environmental crisis and consequences for the Mekong Delta; the problems of regional militarism
and the East Sea; the tragic consequences of border migration regulations and the deaths of those
travelling by illicit means across European borders (the initial proposal for this volume was written
in the weeks after the deaths of 39 people in a refrigerated and airtight lorry in England in October
2019. The final editing took place just as the country emerged from its initial battles with Covid-
19). There were other articles we wanted to include, from people working on industrial relations,
technology, housing, women, business and corporate espionage, corruption, party education, and
traffic. Not everything can nor should be contained in one volume, but we hoped to introduce read-
ers to the breadth and depth of sociology in Vietnam, using in large part the resources of the one
Department of Sociology at Ton Duc Thang University in Ho Chi Minh City.
The papers gathered here are from an international conference – Innovations in the Social
Sciences and Humanities, held at Ton Duc Thang University in October 2019. Just 22 years old,
the university has become a leading research and teaching institution in Vietnam with aspirations
to make a mark in Asia and the world. The sociology practised in the faculty is much discussed, not
of any one stream, nor unduly influenced by any one mode of analysis – though our faculty ser-
vices the entire university with courses on Marxism and on Ho Chi Minh Thought, we also embrace,
among our staff, interests in Critical Theory, Discourse Analysis, Demographics, Social Policy,
Tourism Management Studies, Cultural Studies, Migration, Urban Studies and Pedagogy as Social
Practice. A list of sub-disciplines or authors could still not exhaust what counts as sociology in this
collection, or at Ton Duc Thang University. The point is that there is a conversation underway,
there is discussion and debate and there is a strong determination to have a say and have our analy-
ses heard. This is a sociology that wants to change the way you think, about Vietnam, about society,
about communism and about the world. The optimism is palpable, and the effort to match that
optimism with robust scholarship is evident within. These essays are an indicative sample of that
conversation that not only will interpret, but also wants to change, the ways we live.
Perhaps the most pressing thing is that we need to have a robust debate about the ways the neo-liberal
agenda and its tools of division, lists, ranking, metrics and administrative privatisation are reformatting
the university sector in Asia. Instead of speakers boosting the achievements and gains of the new efforts
of university workers as if the five-year plan was the end of the conversation, we need criticism and
self-evaluation, trust in colleagues while realistically assessing constraints and potential; we need vision
and autonomy not only from leaders but at every level and the ability to listen and take responsibility for
fast responsive implementation of best practice and sometimes wholly experimental practice.
Nguyen and Hutnyk 785

Yet of course sociology advances within Vietnam, young and determined. While demography
has obvious importance in a society still recovering from colonial occupation and war, there is no
rest when urgent forecasts also call down urbanisation and threaten climate struggles with astro-
nomical increase. At the same time that industrial development is always pressing, the steady hand
of the Party is beset with expectation and grand policy prospects that necessarily confront organi-
sational questions. How do workers articulate interests within large-scale initiatives and develop-
ment trends, in the face and relentless frisson of both globalisation and aspirational aims?
Encouragement addresses environment and ecology in Vietnam where the terrain of struggle has
always been a factor. Here we see both governance and creative business initiatives at work, in
confrontation and in partnership. The development of newly mobile identities, security and safety
concerns and cultural marketing, including tourism, are of course also transformational even as the
urban character of Ho Chi Minh City retains its unique ability to embrace tradition and the future
together. We will see how this emergent sociology deals with this future and its challenges. The
sense of a resilient emergence is palpable.
The articles in this collection offer a glimpse of a much wider sociology that deserves consid-
eration. We offer this taste knowing there is more to come, and we hope you will be in touch.

Contents
  1. Sociology in Vietnam by Nguyen Minh Huan and John Hutnyk
  2. The Model of Population Transition in Vietnam in Relation to Europe and Asia: A
Quantitative Approach by Ha Trọng Nghia
  3. Tube Housing as Dominant System and Everyday Urban Culture of Saigon-Ho Chi
Minh City by Huyen Truong-Young and Trevor Hogan
  4. Social Structure of Changing Labor Relations in Vietnam by Le Thi Mai
  5. Camaraderie and Conflict: Intercultural Communication and Workplace
Interactions in South Korean Companies in Bình Dương Province, Vietnam by
Nguyen Thi Hong-Xoan and Catherine Earl
  6. Forestry Policy and Legitimacy: The Case of Forest Devolution in Vietnam by Thi
Kim Phung Dang
  7. Promoting Participation in Local Natural Resource Management through Ecological
Cultural Tourism by Le Hue Huong, Bui Loan Thuy and Nguyen Thi Phuong Linh
  8. Community Initiatives and Local Networks among K’ho Cil Smallholder Coffee
Farmers in the Central Highlands of Vietnam: A Case Study by Thi Thu Truong Hang
  9. Travel Branding in Tourism 4.0: Case Study Vietnam Travel by Hoang Thị Van and
Vo Minh Hieu
10. LGBTQIA+ at the Blue Sky Club in Ho Chi Minh City by Do Xuan Ha, Nguyen Phi
Hien, Bui Mai Sinh and Nguyen Thi Phuong Linh

Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Author biographies
Nguyen Minh Huan is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Ton Duc Thang
University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and did his PhD research on tourism and hospitality management.
John Hutnyk is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Ton Duc Thang
University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and does research on Marxism, History and Anthropology in Asia.