The Restructuring of Vietnamese Nationalism since 1986

Hy V. Luong

Department of Anthropology

University of Toronto

This paper examines how in the era of globalization, the Vietnamese state has redefined the concept of culture in the process of re-structuring Vietnamese nationalism. For empirical analyses, the paper focuses particularly on the dialogic restructuring of festivals and life-cycle ceremonies in the 1946-75 period and since 1986. It draws upon my field data from two rural Vietnamese communities, one in the north and one in the Mekong delta in the southern part of Vietnam.