Marie Monsen: Charismatic Revivalist - Feminist Fighter

After leaving the diplomatic post vacant for over a year, Richard Nixon in 1970 surprisingly appointed African-American Jerome H. Holland as the new US ambassador to Sweden. When Jerome Holland arrived at the Stockholm airport, antiwar protesters allegedly shouted ‘nigger go home’ at him. A week later, as Dr. Holland submitted his credentials to the Swedish king, demonstrators may have again shouted the racist epithet ‘nigger’. These incidents were widely reported in the US media and now appear in history books. This article examines what happened in April 1970, and concludes that the evidence showing that antiwar demonstrators said any of these things is weak. It may be that someone simply misunderstood what had been said. Another possibility is that the Nixon White House wanted to smear the Swedish antiwar movement with the stain of racism, trying to undercut the legitimacy of Sweden's criticism of the Vietnam War. This article examines the evidence behind a historical puzzle that still allows various interpretations of meanings and motives.     

Persia and the Greeks: Failure of an Empire

GEORGE CAWKWELL. The Greek Wars: The Failure of Persia. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Pp. 316. $195.00 (CDN). Reviewed by Arthur M. Eckstein     

A Case of Maternal and Perinatal Death in Neolithic Southern Vietnam,c. 2100–1050 BCE

Despite ostensibly elevated rates of young female mortality in the past, believed to be associated with the risks of pregnancy and child birth, surprisingly few cases of pregnant female burials are reported in the bioarchaeological literature. This paper describes and discusses the case of a young female who died and was interred with an unborn full‐term breech foetus at the Neolithic site of An Son, southern Vietnam c. 2100–1050BCE. Her exceptionally poor oral health, evidence for cribra orbitalia, linear enamel hypoplasia, small stature and compromised gynaecological competence, contributes to a differential diagnosis that explores a range of additional complications that may have contributed to the death of both mother and unborn child. An examination and appreciation of this case contribute to our knowledge of the reproductive age and health of young females in Neolithic Southern Vietnam and the challenges they faced during pregnancy and childbirth. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rethinking Whiteness and Masculinity in Geography: Drinking Alcohol in the Field in Vietnam

This paper evaluates the spatial politics of fieldwork in Vietnam in order to think through the connections between whiteness, masculinity, and geography. In drawing attention to how the consumption of alcohol underwrites daily activities in Vietnam, as well as fieldwork activities, I show that research ethics are underpinned by unique spatial contexts that do not conform to conventional accounts of masculinity and whiteness in the global North. I make three interrelated arguments. First, I argue that debates in geography about whiteness and masculinity must be understood alongside fieldwork experiences in the global South. Second, I invite geographers to think through how research ethics are shaped by spatially contingent productions of whiteness and masculinity. Lastly, I challenge geographers to keep pace with how disruptive categories like whiteness and masculinity are produced outside of the global North.     

Evaluating Ethnopedological Knowledge Systems for Classifying Soil Quality. A Case Study in Bo Hamlet with Muong People of Northern Vietnam

Ethnopedological knowledge is incorporated in a case study for sustainable land management of mountain karst areas in Vietnam. The research is based on a multidisciplinary approach, including participation of local inhabitants for identifying and classifying local indicators of soil quality, next to scientifically sound approaches to soil quality assessment based on analytical soil data and a statistical treatment of the results. The case study focuses on Bo hamlet, located in the Ngo Luong commune of the Tan Lac district, Hoa Binh province. The participatory approach reveals that local people of the Muong ethnic group distinguish seven land use types and six soil types. They also identified nine local indicators of soil quality: presence of earthworms; crop productivity; topsoil colour; presence of a humus layer; soil surface compaction; erosion; slope gradient; surface water, and soil moisture status. Based on this indigenous knowledge, 19 soil samples from nine soil profiles in Bo hamlet were analysed for fertility indicators. Laboratory results confirmed the validity of indigenous knowledge for identifying and classifying local indicators of soil fertility, compared to scientific standards of soil quality.     

Coastal Livelihood Transitions: Socio‐Economic Consequences of Changing Mangrove Forest Management and Land Allocation in a Commune of Central Vietnam

This paper reviews the evolution of land use and mangrove forest management in a coastal commune in Central Vietnam from its early period of environmentally sound management under a common property regime, through State and cooperative management, to individual household allocation under the economic reforms of the 1990s. It analyses in particular the introduction of shrimp culture and its environmental and socioeconomic consequences. The case study demonstrates that, while opening up many economic opportunities, Vietnam's economic reforms have had uneven impacts on income inequality. Like many cases in Asia and Latin America, the disruption of common property resources – through the introduction of aquaculture as a livelihood opportunity and producer of an export crop – leaves farmers indebted and natural resources polluted. But, ironically, it was the financially better‐off aquaculture farmers, who had more capacity for risk‐taking and investing, who ended up most indebted, in comparison with poorer farmers who had already sold their ponds. The latter were less integrated into the market economy and relied more on marine product collection. This paper suggests that attention to local contexts and histories can contribute to a better understanding of the causes and consequences of environment‐poverty interfaces.     

Costume,Ceremonial, and the East Asian Order: What the Annamese King Wore When Congratulating the Emperor Qianlong in Jehol in 1790

Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty celebrated his eightieth birthday in 1790, for which Vietnam, Korea, the Ryūkyū Islands, Burma, and Mongolia sent delegates to the imperial summer resort at Chengde 承德 to pay homage. Curiously, the Annamese (or, Vietnamese) king NguyễnQuangBình (阮 光平), who had just defeated the Qing army, offered to appear in Qing costume and kowtow to the Qing emperor. The unusual act pleased Emperor Qianlong and infuriated the Korean delegates. What did costume and ceremonial mean in the context of the East Asian political and cultural order? Why did the British embassy to China led by Lord Macartney three years later cause friction with regards to sartorial and ceremonial manners? This lecture will address these questions.     

韩国对越参战问题初探

越南战争期间,韩国派出大规模部队参与战争,成为美国盟国中派兵规模最大的国家。韩国参战并非美国压力的结果,而是主动请缨,但从韩国提出参战到实现派兵的整个过程无不与美国有着密切的关系,同时也与冷战大背景及韩国的政治经济状况密切相关。参加越战对美韩关系及韩国的政治经济发展均产生了深刻影响。韩国参战后,美国提高了本已削减了的对韩经济军事援助,停止了驻韩美军的削减,美韩安全合作的新领域得到拓展,两国关系的不平衡结构亦得到改变。     

论越南南河阮氏政权的华侨华人政策——兼论北河黎郑政权的华侨华人政策

简析了华侨华人移居南河的背景并重点对南河政权的华侨华人政策进行了研究探讨。结果表明,17—18世纪,越南南河阮氏政权为了自身的生存和发展,对华侨华人实施的是相较北河而言更为灵活的入境政策,更为宽松的居住政策,更为自主的行管政策,更为优惠的经济政策,更为开放的文化政策。这种政策对阮氏政权和华侨华人的生存和发展都具有积极意义,是一种双赢的政策。     

The ‘Most Distinguished Envoy of Peace’: Averell Harriman and the Vietnam War in the Johnson Years

From 1965 to 1969 the eminent diplomat Averell Harriman was at the forefront of US efforts to achieve a negotiated peace in Vietnam, pursuing numerous initiatives with vigour. He grew frustrated and embittered at how, in his view, President Johnson and his advisers were responsible for missing a number of opportunities for peace. However, recent research indicates that Communist attitudes were at least as much a sticking point. Harriman was also keen to enlist Soviet assistance, but it has become clear that Moscow was ambivalent towards engaging wholeheartedly with the peace effort. The article provides a fresh perspective on Harriman's attempts to bring peace in Vietnam, not least through the use of recent research in Communist archives.