New perspectives on gender and Vietnamese literature 1900-1945

Omega Vietnam Book Joint Stock Company has just released to readers the book "Post-Civil Examination: Masculinity and Modern Aesthetics in Colonial Vietnam" by Associate Professor, Dr. Ben Tran. The book gives readers a vivid picture of the transformation of Vietnamese cultural and literary life after the civil examination system was abolished.

The book is translated by Mai Thi Thu Huyen and Dang Thi Thai Ha.

Gender studies is one of the prominent trends of social sciences and humanities in general, and literary studies in particular, in recent decades.

However, while women are increasingly receiving academic attention and research on women's issues is growing exponentially, masculinities and men's gender practices have not received the same attention.

The book “Post-Course Examination: Masculinity and Modern Aesthetics in Colonial Vietnam” by Associate Professor, Dr. Ben Tran (translated version) is one of the few studies on men and masculinity issues in a turbulent period in Vietnamese history: 1900-1945.

The book consists of 5 chapters, presenting rich cross-sections: from “nationalism through personal experience” in the reports of Tam Lang and Thach Lam; to realism and modern aesthetics through the novels of Vu Trong Phung; from sociological novels and resistance to Confucianism in Nhat Linh's writing style; to language and gender-defining narratives of Khai Hung; and finally the intersection between Queer internationalism, modern Vietnamese aesthetics and anti-colonial spirit.

The book shows the transformation of Vietnamese cultural and literary life from 1900 to 1945. From the collapse of the male-dominated mandarin system, a new printing culture was formed, associated with the national language, newspapers and the expansion of readers, especially the appearance of women in the world of letters that previously belonged only to men.

The work also shows that the post-examination printing culture has fundamentally changed the face of Vietnamese literature: the national language, newspapers, female readers and post-examination writers all blend together to create a unique modern aesthetic. In particular, the attention to women - both as readers and as literary characters - has opened up a new horizon, reflecting the instability of colonial masculinity and marking a turning point for Vietnamese literature in the early 20th century.

This book is truly essential for anyone interested in gender issues in Vietnam from 1900 to 1945. Because the book not only offers new and valuable perspectives, broadening the scope of approaching modern Vietnamese cultural life from a gender perspective, but also opens up potential directions for research on Vietnam in the first half of the 20th century as well as the periods before and after.

Associate Professor Ben Tran, PhD, teaches at Vanderbilt University on the politics and aesthetics of Southeast Asian, Asian American, and English literature in the 20th and 21st centuries.

He published the book "Post-Civil Service: Masculinity and Modern Aesthetics in Colonial Vietnam" in 2017, analyzing the transformations of masculine models in the context of aesthetic modernization and colonialism in early 20th-century Vietnam.

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Source: https://nhandan.vn/goc-nhin-moi-ve-gioi-va-van-chuong-viet-nam-giai-doan-1900-1945-post914639.html