Week 10_Miguel Flores_ASA 150E

I signed up for the class knowing some general history about the Viet Nam war, and by taking this course, my eyes were open to the atrocities of the war, the counternarratives furthered my understanding, and it contradicted my prior knowledge of the war. For the first time in so many years knowing about the Viet Nam war through Euro-centric history textbooks, in this class, I was able to hear a different side of the story. I had hesitations taking this class because of the vague title “Southeast Asian American Experience,” but after attending the first class I thought I would give it some time to feel out the class and I am glad I stayed and learned more about the unheard stories of not only the Vietnamese people, but also people from Lao, Cambodia, Thailand, and displaced people such as Hmong. Through the documentaries that were shown in class, it puts an emotional weight on the histories I learned in class. Just emphasizing the importance of counternarratives and probably one of the most impactful readings were by Nguyen on the literature about silence. That spoke volumes to me and the mere fact that silence itself can be an impactful indication of the traumatic and painful experiences of people who were involved in the war.

This is probably one of the laidback classes I’ve taken in my five years of college. The professor’s enthusiasm and quirkiness set off a really good vibe in class. Now that we are coming to an end, it became ingrained in my mind that the narratives that we know are not always right or tells the full story. The powerful effect of personal accounts and narratives taught me that my story matters and valid. It is my story and I own it. Viet Nam As A Concept is a class that will challenge your understanding of the war; it is a class of renegotiating stories and highlighting the real victims and perpetrators of the war. As a final thought, how can we shed more light on these invisible stories and counter-narratives? As a student of Asian American studies, how can we ensure that these narratives are heard? 

          I will share the TED Talk piece again by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her emphasis on the dangers of a single story as it deeply surmises the intentions of this class; to highlight different narratives and countering what we learned in the past:

Reference:

TED. “The Dangers of a Single Story. Youtube. 7 October 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg