HALF A CENTURY OF CONTEMPORARY VIETNAMESE SOCIOLOGY: A CONCEPT PROPOSAL

Abstract

The 50th anniversary of national reunification (1975-2025) and the 40th anniversary of Đổi Mới (1986-2026) present a valuable opportunity for the sociology community in Viet Nam to reflect on the journey so far, reviewing and evaluating its scholarly and social contributions, and setting out a new vision for the future. In 2025-2026, the sociology community in Viet Nam should consider launching a program tentatively titled “Half a Century of Contemporary Vietnamese Sociology”, which would encompass a range of activities across five key areas: academic development, policy contributions, social impacts, knowledge sharing, and human resource training. This would also involve the collaborative creation of an archive documenting the history of Vietnamese sociology - an area of research that remains underdeveloped, underfunded, and often overlooked. Such a program could reinvigorate the discipline, expanding sociology’s influence within science, education, and society. It may also inspire similar initiatives in closely related fields.