Who owns the ‘history’ and ‘trauma’ of the Vietnam War in America? Who owns the narrative of the Vietnamese people who came to America after 1975? In this course, we will read and discuss passages and poems of Vietnamese American literature that portray the complexities of Vietnam and the Vietnamese American experience. We will highlight both well-known and rising authors on our syllabus, including Ocean Vuong, Paul Tran, Monique Truong, and more!

An introduction to pop, rap, and indie music tracks that are topping the charts in Vietnam. Analyze creatively funny, aesthetic, emotional, complex V-pop music videos, learn how to pronounce (even sing?!) Vietnamese lyrics, and discover how V-pop might be taking its inspiration from your favorite American and K-pop artists. We’ll explore the works of The Chillies (Vietnam’s The Beatles), Suboi (an iconic female rapper), UNI5 (an adorable boy band), Son Tung MTP (whose song with Snoop Dogg was trending on Youtube this summer), the soundtracks from Vietnam’s growing film industry, and more! We’ll also take a quick look at some contemporary art, film, photography, and choreography that is defining “Vietnamese” creativity. Perhaps you’ll come away with some new V-pop idols and boy bands to stan!

An introduction to pop, rap, and indie music tracks that are topping the charts in Vietnam. Analyze creatively funny, aesthetic, emotional, complex V-pop music videos, learn how to pronounce (even sing?!) Vietnamese lyrics, and discover how V-pop might be taking its inspiration from your favorite American and K-pop artists. We’ll explore the works of The Chillies (Vietnam’s The Beatles), Suboi (an iconic female rapper), UNI5 (an adorable boy band), Son Tung MTP (whose song with Snoop Dogg was trending on Youtube this summer), the soundtracks from Vietnam’s growing film industry, and more! We’ll also take a quick look at some contemporary art, photography, and choreography that is defining “Vietnamese” creativity. Perhaps you’ll come away with some new V-pop idols and boy bands to stan!