Dao The Duc is the Vice Editor-in-chief in the Institute of Cultural Studies, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences. An anthropologist who graduated from University of Washington (Seattle) with Ph.D. thesis entitled Buddhist Pilgrimage and the Resurgence of Religious Practices in Contemporary Vietnam. His research interest is on religious practices by elderly women’s groups; gender-based violence; ethnic conflicts and ethnic identities; migration and cultural changes; cultural institutions and safeguarding of cultural heritages. His recent research projects include Histories and Heritages of Central Vietnam, The Role of Culture in Sustainable Development in Central Highland Vietnam, and Integration in Southeast Asia: Trajectories of Inclusion, Dynamics of Exclusion.
Project Summary
The Son Ha Incident in Central Vietnam
An event of mass violence that took place in 1950 on the banks of the Hrê River (Quang Ngai province, central Vietnam) is the subject of research conducted for CRISEA by historian Andrew Hardy and anthropologist Dao The Duc. Known variously as the Son Ha Incident and the Hrê Revolt, approximately 2000 ethnic Viet inhabitants of the district of Son Ha were killed by their ethnic Hrê neighbours in the space of a few days. The research has three aims. First, to establish the facts of the event. Second, to shed light on the local historical context that led to the violence. Third, to explore the impact of memory of the event on twenty-first-century ethnic relations and political culture. The data sources include interviews (in Quang Ngai) and archives (in Vietnam and France). The results of the research will provide a case study for use in comparative analysis of violence, trauma and identity in Southeast Asia.
