Vietnam

Ethnicity, Gender, and Social Change – syllabus
(ASIA3010 / 3 credits)

This course explores the repercussions of the processes of social change in Vietnam with a special focus on specific groups such as women and ethnic minorities. Students are asked to analyze gender relations and ethnic minority perspectives from a comparative standpoint, in relation to both regional and global social and political change. Students look at the governance of ethnic minority affairs, the development problems faced by minority peoples, and the challenge of maintaining Vietnamese people’s diverse traditions throughout the process of nation-building. The course enables students to identify agents of change and their role in shaping sustainable social change.

Economic Reform and Development – syllabus
(ASIA3020 / 3 credits)

The course examines Vietnam’s development agenda and ethics and equity issues within the context of the country’s growing market economy and consumer class. Rapid economic development has come with sociopolitical changes and environmental costs. Students examine in detail the major turning point in Vietnam’s development, the Doi Moi “Renovation” economic reforms launched in 1986, and the rapid growth in trade and investment since that time. Excursions to both rural and urban areas in Vietnam, including the Mekong Delta, Central Vietnam, Hanoi, and Sapa, provide students with a variety of unique environments in which they can investigate the nuances of development. In the spring, students will examine new development efforts at Phong Nha National Park. In the fall, students will examine the tradeoffs among coal mining in Hon Gai areas, conservation efforts, and the rapid growth in tourism in Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Beginning Vietnamese – syllabus
(VIET1003-1503 / 3 credits)

Intermediate Vietnamese – syllabus
(VIET2003-2503 / 3 credits)

Advanced Vietnamese – syllabus
(VIET3003-3503 / 3 credits)

Emphasis on speaking and comprehension skills through classroom and field instruction. Based on in-country evaluation, including oral proficiency testing, students are placed in beginning, intermediate, or advanced classes.

Beginning Mandarin Chinese – syllabus
(CHIN1003-1503 / 3 credits)

Intermediate Mandarin Chinese – syllabus
(CHIN2003-2503 / credits)

Advanced Mandarin Chinese – syllabus
(CHIN3003-3503 / credits)

Designed to develop students’ communications skills in standard Chinese. Emphasis on oral expression and comprehension, including instruction in Chinese characters. Courses integrate Chinese culture to promote students’ cross-cultural awareness and understanding. Due to the great differences in Chinese and English, students will also be introduced to strategies and skills for learning Chinese as a foreign language.

Classes and field-based language activities are taught by experienced, professionally trained, native-speaking teachers of Chinese as a foreign language using oral proficiency-based methods. Students are placed into levels based on in-country oral proficiency interviews. These placements may not directly correspond to the student’s level at home institution as SIT courses focus on communicative competence and linguistic functional ability.

Research Methods and Ethics – syllabus
(ANTH3500 / 3 credits)

The course provides an introduction to the Independent Study Project and Internship and Seminar, and provides the foundational skills for conducting research in Vietnam. Topics include cross-cultural adaptation and skills building; project selection and refinement; identifying appropriate research methodologies; field study and internship ethics and the World Learning / SIT Human Subjects Review Policy; developing contacts and finding resources; developing skills in observation and interviewing; gathering, organizing, and communicating data; and maintaining a work journal.

In addition to taking the above courses, students will also need to enroll in one of the following two courses:

Independent Study Project – syllabus
(ISPR3000 / 4 credits)

Conducted in Ho Chi Minh City or in another approved location appropriate to the project. Sample topic areas: gender roles in Vietnamese society; the impact of migration on urban life; colonial architecture; heritage site management and conservation; the business environment and entrepreneurship in Vietnam; craft villages in transition; microcredit projects; poverty reduction and hunger eradication; Vietnamese culture viewed through the media, literature, or popular music; memory and the French and American wars; fortune tellers, magic, and mysticism in a modern socialist society.

Sample ISP topics:

• Gender roles and sexuality in Vietnamese society
• Food culture and organic farming
• Healthcare and inequality
• Colonial architecture
• Heritage site management and conservation
• Entrepreneurship and business development in Vietnam
• Memory and the French and American wars
• Aquaculture: shrimp and catfish farming
• Issues of HIV/AIDS and public health
• Music and performance arts
• Fortune tellers, magic, and mysticism in a modern socialist society

Browse this program’s Independent Study Projects / undergraduate research.

OR

Internship and Seminar – syllabus
(ITRN3000 / 4 credits)

This seminar consists of a four-week internship with a local community organization, research organization, business, or international NGO. The aim of the internship is to enable the student to gain valuable experience and to enhance their skills in an international environment. Students will complete an internship and participate in a weekly seminar in which they process their learning experience (typically online), write progress reports, and prepare a final paper and presentation. A focus will be on linking internship learning with the program’s critical global issue focus and overall program theme.

Sample internships:

• Supporting training workshops, micro-credit programs, and women’s empowerment at the Center for Community Health and Development in Hanoi
• Doing innovative work with green living, public space development and restoration, and organic agriculture with the Action Center for City Development in Hoi An
• Assisting ongoing projects on mental health, micro-nutrients and nutrition, policy advocacy, and social work at the Research and Training Center for Community Development in Hanoi
• Providing support services to local nonprofits, international nongovernmental organizations seeking Vietnamese partners, and individual volunteers and philanthropists who are committed to building strong communities at LIN Center in Ho Chi Minh City
• Participating in projects to improve local livelihoods at the East Meets West Center in Da Nang
• Helping teachers and students with art projects in schools in Hue