fulbright university vietnam

“Nothing is Impossible” Finds It Impossible to Tell the Truth About Vietnam

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Here's my latest for CounterPunch. Thanks to Rutgers University Press for the review copy. Better late than never. Here are some excerpts, including the two paragraphs followed by a section entitled The Measure of the Man. Enjoy (or not)! Just before the Lunar New Year, I finally received my review copy of Nothing is Impossible: America’s … Continue reading “Nothing is Impossible” Finds It Impossible to Tell the Truth About Vietnam

Fulbright University Vietnam Professor Gets the Ax

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This post definitely falls into the intrigue category. Buckle your seat belt, dear reader. It's one hell of a story. Christopher Balding (CB), a one-time Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) professor recently went down in professional flames because of a red line he chose to cross for 15 minutes of infamy while indulging his hatred of … Continue reading Fulbright University Vietnam Professor Gets the Ax

“Beijing’s Expanding Shadow: Choices for Vietnam”

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Screenshot of the webinar On Saturday, 10 October, Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) organized a webinar entitled Beijing's Expanding Shadow: Choices for Vietnam in which Murray Hiebert, one of whose titles is Senior Associate (Non-resident), Southeast Asia Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), spouted the prevailing anti-China party line and hawked his new book … Continue reading “Beijing’s Expanding Shadow: Choices for Vietnam”

Coming to Terms with the Past by Honoring Historical Truth: The Case of Fulbright University Vietnam

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Here's my latest essay about Fulbright University Vietnam.  Below is an excerpt from the conclusion to whet your appetite (or not). Education is one way to heal the past, assuming it is objective, comprehensive, and truthful. FUV has yet to live up to its billing as a university with a mission grounded in the liberal … Continue reading Coming to Terms with the Past by Honoring Historical Truth: The Case of Fulbright University Vietnam

Expanding the Fulbright Legacy in Vietnam (?)

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It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.  -Mark Twain (1835-1910)   This was the title of a 2018 article written by Mary Beth Marklein (MBM) for Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning (Volume 50, 2018 - Issue 1, pp. 63-70).  The online … Continue reading Expanding the Fulbright Legacy in Vietnam (?)

New Approaches to University Education in Asia

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While I will reserve judgement, the theme of this Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) conference sounds like yet another example of US Americans telling others, in the case, Asian universities, how it should really be done a la Daddy knows best.  Why not just New Approaches to University Education?   Or, as one colleague put it, "It's … Continue reading New Approaches to University Education in Asia

Fulbright University Vietnam & Moral Leadership?

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Given events of the past few years, these are two phrases that mix like oil and water.  Think textbook cognitive dissonance.  Or a feeble attempt at rehabilitation in the eyes of the public, an audacious means of gaining the moral high ground from the morass of historical tone deafness and gross insensitivity.   My first reaction … Continue reading Fulbright University Vietnam & Moral Leadership?

“PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives Harvard University’s professor”

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When I saw this headline, I was curious to see who the Harvard professor was.  It was none other than Thomas Vallely, who is not a professor but an administrator with neither an academic appointment nor a Ph.D.  More importantly, this is the same Thomas Vallely (TV) who made a series of cruel and insensitive … Continue reading “PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives Harvard University’s professor”

“More Demons Unleashed After Fulbright University Vietnam Official Drops Rhetorical Bombshells”

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This 17 August 2018 CounterPunch article is the third in a trilogy.  Here are the first and second articles.  This should be my last word about this sad story.   Pardon the nasty military metaphor but it's not nearly as nasty as some of the quotes from "one of the most influential figures in the US-Viet Nam relationship you’ve never heard … Continue reading “More Demons Unleashed After Fulbright University Vietnam Official Drops Rhetorical Bombshells”