Vietnamese Studies is currently at a crossroads in the United States. With a population of nearly 100 million people in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, approximately 2.3 million people of Vietnamese heritage in the United States with around 38,000 Vietnamese calling the New York Metro area home, and large communities in France, Germany, Australia, Taiwan, and South Korea, the study of Vietnam and global Vietnamese is rising in importance on the world stage. Today, Vietnam continues to act as a critical bridge between East and Southeast Asia, is a leading member of ASEAN, boasts one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, and remains one of only three communist governments in the region. Yet, there is a dearth of comprehensive scholarship on Vietnam and global Vietnamese in the United States, and the need for continued research and investigation will only increase. The Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University is uniquely positioned to provide that expertise, scholarship and education in Vietnamese Studies for the 21st Century.
To that end, Columbia University has been awarded a 48-month grant of $600,000 by the Luce Foundation for "Digitizing Vietnam: The Virtual Future of Global Vietnam and Vietnamese Studies."
Columbia and Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) propose to build a new infrastructure for Vietnamese Studies centered on an integrated hub for digital humanities (DH) research. The project will make available a large archive of digitized pre-modern manuscript collections and provide a comprehensive catalog for archival and library collections of the modern era located in Vietnam. It will develop DH tools for scholarly and public use. The grant will support a “Digital Curator of Vietnam” at Columbia and a “Digital Humanities Librarian” at FUV. The former will work closely with Columbia Libraries and oversee all aspects of the digital hub, including construction, collection, curation, and management, while the latter will operate between FUV Libraries and FUV’s Vietnam Studies Center, as well as liaise with institutions in Vietnam.
The full announcement is available here.
Vietnamese Studies Highlights
Top figures in government and business from both countries see collaboration around AI, semiconductors, and tech infrastructure as the next stage in the bilateral relationship.
A new Weatherhead Studies title untangles the many "conflicting and almost contradictory interpretations" of the 1954 relocation of more than 800,000 Vietnamese.
In Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the Global Vietnam Studies Program builds relationships with four major institutions.
"Our program is rooted in history, but it looks to the future," EALAC Professor John Phan tells local audience.
Modeling five collections by designer Minh Hanh, Columbia volunteers transform the Morningside Heights campus into a glamorous showcase for international fashion.
Weatherhead announces the Vietnam Leadership Program, a GVSP project that centers on the study of Vietnam’s economic and political development.
WEAI Scholar John Phan Traces Origin Story of Vietnamese Language in ‘Lost Tongues of the Red River’
EALAC Professor eager to have first book “out in the wild, where other scholars can interact with it.”
Starry NYAFF 2025 panel showcases some of the leading voices in contemporary Vietnamese cinema.
Columbia News gives a comprehensive account of Weatherhead's "profound and moving" 50-30 conference.
Filmmaker and educator talks storytelling, stereotypes, and the many ways of addressing a war’s legacy.
