Representing Doi Moi: history, memory and shifting national narratives in late-socialist Vietnam

Abstract

In late-socialist states, what are the drivers of shifts in national narratives and how can a focus on the museum method reveal the way state institutions construct national myths and nationalist ideologies? This paper addresses these questions by focusing on a behind-the-scenes ethnography of an exhibition celebrating 30 years of Doi Moi – the economic reform period in Vietnam that commenced in 1986. Focusing on the museum as method – the process of documenting how curators deliberate over labels, objects, photos and so forth – the paper analyses how national narratives are authored and transformed through curatorial exchanges and expert forums. By focusing on how aesthetics and achievement provide a foundation for inclusive interpretative strategies that integrate official histories alongside personal memories, this paper reflects on the alienating effects of official histories in state institutions and the strategies by which people appropriate these to reclaim their past.

Keywords:

• Museum
• nationalism
• history
• memory
• Vietnam
• post-socialism

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers of the paper for their constructive comments as well as Bill Logan for his feedback on an earlier draft.

Notes

1. Museums are quintessentially a modern phenomenon in Vietnam – a legacy of French colonialism – with over 140 different types of museums now existing in the country This number is growing steadily mainly due to the Heritage Law (2001) which granted individual’s the right to establish private museums in the country as well as ambitious state funded projects to build a wave of new national museums

2. Pelley’s view that dissent is located overseas, however, is challenged by Logan (2010) who claims that Christian sects and anti-communist Việt Kiều (overseas Vietnamese, mainly based in the United States) have fuelled tensions over land rights and religious freedom in Vietnam.

3. For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to the museum as Vietnam Museum of Revolution in order to distinguish it from the main National Museum of History site across the road.

4. See Nguyen (2012) for a history and overview of the antiquity collections of the Vietnam National Museum of History.

5. See Beresford and Dang (2000) for more details about the economic history of the Doi Moi reform period.

6. I was often referred to in official communications as an international museum consultant (though I received no payment for my role). The title was, I believe, a valorising role as it highlighted the museum’s connection to an international community of museum experts.

7. For many Vietnamese, the subsidy period has nostalgic memories. They believe that the country needed to undergo this period in order to achieve the economy growth experienced today (see Bodemer 2010).

8. In the Vietnam National Museum of History, most exhibitions have a lead-in time of six months or less, making research and community engagement hard to achieve.

9. ‘Đổi Mới để tiến lên’ actually translates as ‘Doi Moi to advance’ and so was poorly translated into English in the exhibition.