Book Project:
Witnessing the Re-invention of Vietnam:
A Personal Narratives-based Interpretation of Change in Vietnam

Description:
Using the narrative genre as opposed to the usual explanation-oriented methodology of the strict academic discourse, this book project seeks to create meanings of and to illustrate the status of Vietnam's development experience since the inception of Doi Moi in 1986--portrayed by most commentators as the watershed development momentum of Vietnam's post-War era.

The purpose of this book is not to extol the virtue of the Doi Moi reforms, rather the contributors are asked to tell personal stories—predominantly drawn from their professional occupations, but also from their private life's vicissitudes—to critically reflect upon the ways in which the alleged change in Vietnam has become perceptible.

The following two pillar questions serve as platform around which a 'common conversation' will gravitate:
How is change mirrored in your all-round occupation in Vietnam, especially in your main professional one?
What would you recommend or envision in order to keep track with the positive trends or, in the reverse case, to redress existing and prevent potential drawbacks in Vietnam's future development experience?

Contributors:
The editor's effort is to cover a broad range of issues and sectors with insightful personal stories reverberating the quality and scope of change therein. Key social sectors (e.g. health, education, food) as well as economic issues (e.g. financial and securities markets, trade, small and medium enterprises), infrastructures, housing, culture (e.g. traditional culture, pop-culture, beliefs, attitudes towards Aliens and foreign lifestyles), institutions and governance, are expected to be exposed in a way that is bifurcated between and enriched by the combined experience of Vietnamese individuals and expatriates.

In this regard, Vietnamese, as well as foreign nationals living or who happened to reside in Vietnam for a reasonable period of time, are invited to submit a one-page abstract to the email address indicated below. Please, make sure to provide your country of origin, your field of professional occupation and the duration of your stay in Vietnam. Should you be a Vietnamese who recently relocated in Vietnam, so please indicate the city and country of your precedent residency. Information about your age range will be highly appreciated. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is July 15, 2009.

Audience:
The book audience is unrestricted. Scholars, non-academic individuals, tourists and long-term alien residents of Vietnam, as well as people simply interested in Vietnamese contemporary issues are targeted by this publication. The manuscript is expected to be printed and published in the first quarter of 2010.