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Effects of Marxist Methodology on Social Science Researches Conducted by Vietnamese Scholars Before 1986



Author(s)

Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa (Ruan Shi Mei Hua), Shu Yuan Zhao

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DOI:10.17265/2159-5836/2018.09.016

Marxism School of Hunan University, Changsha city, Hunan, China Institute of Philosophy,Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Ha Noi, Viet Nam; Marxism School of Hunan University, Changsha city, Hunan, China

In the early twentieth century, Marxism was propagated into Vietnam through patriotic intellectuals. After the propagation into Vietnam, Marxism not only influenced national liberation movements, but also profoundly affected scholars, particularly scholars of social science. In fact, many of well-known Vietnamese scholars have relied on Marxism’s theory of social existence and social consciousness, infrastructure and superstructure, practical concept, concept of class struggle, etc. to comment on poetry, history, language, geography, philosophy, etc. In other words, the scholars have applied Marxist methodology to explore and study cultural and social life in Vietnam; and in that way, a generation of Marxist researchers in the field of social sciences has been formed. After the renovation of the country, the Government of Vietnam has implemented its policy of openness and international integration, and scholars have been therefore able to receive many other Western ideals and cultures, and the Marxist methodology was not the only one used in social science research. Consequently, some people expressed their skepticism about the role of Marxist methodology in academic research in Vietnam, even completely denied the historical significance of Marxist methodology to the academia in Vietnam. This article is intended, through Vietnamese Marxist scholars, especially the ones in the field of social sciences prior to 1986 (i.e., prior to the renovation of the country) to demonstrate the historical significance of the Marxist methodology to the Vietnamese academia. It is clear that the penetration of the Marxism and the Marxist methodology into Vietnam have created a revolution in the field of academic research (primarily in the field of social science). It has promoted academic research from conservative toward innovative, from traditional to modern. With the presence of the French colonialism as well as the French culture, the Marxism and the Marxist methodology helped Vietnamese scholars break away from Chinese Confucian scholarship and shift to systematic scholarly studies based on practical bases, scientific bases and modern methods. Although there are still some certain drawbacks, it cannot be denied that the Marxism and the Marxist methodology have played an important role in the formation and development of modern social sciences in Vietnam today.

Marxist methodology, Vietnam, scholars, social science