Vs4 Culture of Vietnam

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2024
Extent and Intensity
1/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
prof. RNDr. Václav Blažek, CSc. (lecturer)
Mgr. Michal Schwarz, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Ondřej Srba, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. RNDr. Václav Blažek, CSc.
Department of Mongolian, Korean and Vietnamese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Ondřej Srba, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Mongolian, Korean and Vietnamese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each odd Tuesday 11:00–11:50 G23
Prerequisites
no requirements
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course goal is to acquire knowledge of various levels of Vietnamese culture and source-traditions in context of relations with East and Southeast Asian countries. The course Culture of Vietnam is a fundamental theoretical profile core course of the study programme Vietnamese Studies. Content of this course and acquired knowledge will be also a part of the Final State Examination. The course is open for students of other study programmes – in such a case only final written examination with requirements of more moderate results is needed to pass the course.
Learning outcomes
At the end of this course a student knows:
- main religions in Vietnam;
- the system of basic symbols;
- festivals;
- traditional role of education;
- basic cultural specifics of major ethnic groups;
- other selected topics of the Classical Vietnamese culture;
- cultural influences of other East and Southeast Asian countries.
Syllabus
  • 1. Confucianism and Buddhism in Vietnam
  • 1a. Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism in Vietnam
  • 1b. Buddhism in Vietnam
  • 2. Taoism in Vietnam, Vietnamese folk religion (respect for mother goddesses, media cult, etc.), new syncretic religions (Cao Đài, Hòa Hảo)
  • 2a. Taoism in Vietnam, Vietnamese folk religion
  • 2b. New Vietnamese Syncretic Religions (Cao Đài, Hòa Hảo)
  • 3. Cham people – religious and cultural tradition of the descendants of the Champa civilization (can be replaced by presentation of another ethnic group during the bachelor's exam)
  • 3a. Historical Cham art and architecture, history of Cham religion
  • 3b. Contemporary Cham society and rituals in its life
  • 4. Traditional Vietnamese society and its organization at the family and state levels
  • 4a. Traditional organization of society, role of the ruler and government structures, state examination system, geomancy
  • 4b. Vietnamese family, family rituals (weddings, funerals), ancestor cult
  • 5. Symbolic and artistic aspects of Vietnamese culture
  • 5a. Traditional symbolism in Vietnamese art
  • 5b. a) Traditional Vietnamese music, b) modern Vietnamese painting
Literature
    required literature
  • McLeod, Mark W., Nguyen Thi Dieu. 2001. Culture and customs of Vietnam. Westport - London: Greenwood Press.
    recommended literature
  • Soukup, Václav et al. 2000. Sociální a kulturní antropologie. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství.
  • Obuchová, Ľubica. 2000. Čínské symboly. Praha: Grada.
  • Vietnam cultural window : a guide to Vietnamese culture. Hà Nội: Thế Giới Publishers, 2015, x, 271. ISBN 9786047713028. info
    not specified
  • HỮU, Ngọc. Sketches for a portrait of Vietnamese Culture. Hà nội: Thế Giới Publishers, 1997.
  • DURAND, Maurice & HUARD, P. Connaissance du Vietnam. Hanoi/Paris, EFEO/ Imprimerie nationale, 1954. iii-356 p.
  • SCHWEYER, Anne-Valérie & PIEMMETTAWAT, Paisarn (photo). Ancient Vietnam. History, Art and Archaeology. Bangkok: River Books, 2011.
  • DURAND, Maurice. L'Imagerie populaire vietnamienne. Paris, EFEO (PEFEO, 47), 1960. xcvi-491 p.
  • The History of Buddhism in Vietnam. Edited by Tai Thu Nguyen - Thi Tho Hoang - Minh Chi Dinh. Washington: Council for research in values and philosophy, 2008, 363 s. ISBN 1565180984. info
Teaching methods
lectures
Assessment methods
Students of the study programme Vietnamese Studies: final written examination: at least 75 % of correct answers is required to pass the course. Students of other study programmes have two variants how to pass the course: 1) final written examination with at least 50 % of correct answers, but the same assessment scale as the students of Vietnamese studies, or 2) a short essay (2-3 standardized pages).
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2024/Vs4