Vs4 Culture of Vietnam

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
1/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
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
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
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/Vs4