The Unimagined Community by Duy Lap Nguyen

The Unimagined Community by Duy Lap Nguyen

The unimagined community presents a wide-ranging study of South Vietnemese culture, from political philosophy and psychological warfare to popular culture and film. The book pursues the provocative claim that in its early phase the conflict was not an anti-communist crusade, but a struggle between two different forms of anticolonial communism. -- .

'In The Unimagined Community: Imperialism and Culture in South Vietnam, Duy Lap Nguyen has dissolved the entrenched stereotype of Ngô Ðình Diem and developed an analysis of his thought, aims, policies, and opponents that is fresh and convincing, meanwhile subverting prevailing interpretations of modern Vietnamese historyHe also develops a fresh analysis of American and South Vietnamese relations in the post-Diem era.'
H-Asia

'A wide-ranging work of original historical research, critical theory, and cultural criticism, this volume by Nguyen (Univ. of Houston) reexamines the political and cultural history of the Vietnam War from the largely excluded perspective of the South Vietnamese. Disputing the widely held representation of the war as a contest between Vietnamese people and US imperialism, The Unimagined Community provocatively argues that, in its early stage, the war was not an anti-communist crusade but a struggle between two competing versions of anti-colonial communism. Providing an extended analysis of the culture of the early South Vietnamese republic, ranging from its political philosophy and psychological warfare to its popular culture and films, the book deftly shows that the war was a contest between two Vietnamese states that embraced two different conceptions of communism: one based on the dictatorship of the proletariat and the other on socialism without the state. Nguyen convincingly argues that in its nine years of existence, the early South Vietnamese state sought to establish a Marxist, humanist nation that favored a stateless form of democracy and rural autonomy—a remarkable political experiment against both capitalism and liberal democracy.' (Reprinted with permission from Choice Reviews. All rights reserved. Copyright by the American Library Association.)
Y. L. Espiritu, University of California San Diego

'In The Unimagined Community: Imperialism and Culture in South Vietnam, Duy Lap Nguyen has masterfully brought together a range of sources to not only contest nationalist historiographies but critically investigate the immediate post independence history of South Vietnam, in particular the first republic and its leaders’ visions for the future.'
The Journal of Asian Studies

'A wide-ranging work of original historical research, critical theory, and cultural criticism, this volume by Nguyen (Univ. of Houston) reexamines the political and cultural history of the Vietnam War from the largely excluded perspective of the South Vietnamese. Disputing the widely held representation of the war as a contest between Vietnamese people and US imperialism, The Unimagined Community provocatively argues that, in its early stage, the war was not an anti-communist crusade but a struggle between two competing versions of anti-colonial communism. Providing an extended analysis of the culture of the early South Vietnamese republic, ranging from its political philosophy and psychological warfare to its popular culture and films, the book deftly shows that the war was a contest between two Vietnamese states that embraced two different conceptions of communism: one based on the dictatorship of the proletariat and the other on socialism without the state. Nguyen convincingly argues that in its nine years of existence, the early South Vietnamese state sought to establish a Marxist, humanist nation that favored a stateless form of democracy and rural autonomy—a remarkable political experiment against both capitalism and liberal democracy.'
Choice
(Reprinted with permission from Choice Reviews. All rights reserved. Copyright by the American Library Association.)

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Duy Lap Nguyen is Associate Professor at the University of Houston

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781526162502
ISBN 10	1526162504
Title	The Unimagined Community
Author	Duy Lap Nguyen
Series	Cultural History Of Modern War
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Manchester University Press
Year published	2022-02-15
Number of pages	296
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.