Evento

Image of Vietnam -- Fading Dragon, Emerging Tiger -- Prof. John McKinstry

Thursday, December 7, 2017 1:00pm - 3:00pm

Copeland Auditorium, French Hospital in SLO

$5 for LLCC members, $10 for non-members

The image of Vietnamplayedheavily on the worlds consciousness during the 1960's and 1970's.

Some 58,000 young Americans met the end of their lives there. Print and electronic media were obsessed with that place for over a decade, and for many of us, the image of that nation is still shrouded in visions of war.

But time moves on; Vietnam today is a rapidly progressing society, one of the most economically advancing in Asia. Surprisingly, as a place with established boundaries and ethnic identity, it is not very old.

There have been people recognizable as Vietnamese for well over a thousand years, but it was only under French colonialism a little over a hundred years ago that the contours of the Vietnam nation began to take shape. Vietnamese have struggled for a long time to establish a place for themselves in the world. Now they have.

This presentation will enlighten you about their struggle and provide you with a look at just what the place looks like today.

John McKinstry is a frequent instructor of LLCC courses. He was Professor of Sociology and Asian Studies at Cal Poly. Visiting Professor several universities in Japan, China and Bulgaria. Recipient of three Fulbright Teaching Awards. Author of several books about Asian cultures and societies.