Prof. Dr. Martin Großheim published a new article about the portrayal of national and world history in Vietnamese history textbooks:
“??i M?i in the Classroom? The Portrayal of National and World History in Vietnamese Textbooks”, in: SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, Vol. 33, No. 1 (2018), pp. 147–80.
URL: https://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg/publication/2312
Abstract:
"Examination of the treatment in Vietnamese history textbooks of national and world history against the backdrop of the collapse of socialism in the Soviet Union and Soviet Bloc countries suggests that the authors of these textbooks fear that what happened in the Soviet Union could also happen in Vietnam. The purpose of the textbooks’ depiction of the past is to allay these fears. The textbooks reflect Vietnam’s turn back towards China after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and of socialist countries in Eastern Europe. For the leadership in Hanoi, the emphasis on fraternal ties with China has, however, recently lost its allure.
Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea have, in turn, prompted many Vietnamese to demand a more comprehensive coverage of Sino–Vietnamese relations in history textbooks"