1954-1975 Vietnamese historiography: Using regionalism to study southern narratives of Vietnamese history

Abstract

This thesis examines competing Democratic of Vietnam (DRV) and Republic of Vietnam (RVN) narratives of Vietnamese history in the period 1954-1975. Using materials from Vietnamese language journals published in Hanoi and Saigon, the study argues that historians in the DRV and the RVN produced significantly different narratives. While Party historians in the DRV attempted to define and write a Marxist version of Vietnamese history, historians in the RVN harnessed the historical experiences of the south to support their power struggle with the north. Southern narratives of Vietnamese history were thus infused with protagonists, antagonists and events that were meaningful to the south. In so doing, historians in the RVN presented narratives of Vietnamese history that represented and gave voice to the a??alternative Vietnama?? of the 1954-1975 period.