Panel presentation :

This panel analyzes texts from the 16th century to the early 20th century written by Vietnamese who were interested in topics and in ways of organizing and expressing knowledge that lay beyond the conventions of their intellectual formation. Presenters will focus upon motivations for creating these texts, what was new about them, and the extent to which this newness was incorporated into existing frameworks of thought. K. W. Taylor presents a study of the first works written in vernacular Vietnamese poetic modes in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Emmanuel Poisson analyzes an 18th century study of botanical, zoological, and agronomical knowledge. Leszek Sobolewski discusses the works of a 19th century reformer. And Catherine Churchman analyzes an early 20th century anthology of local songs in Thanh Hóa province. The panel presenters aim to explore how these texts reveal examples of opening spaces in high-register culture to acquire, accommodate, absorb, and utilize knowledge outside the traditional realm of educated people.