Call for Paper: Harvard Global Vietnam Wars Studies Initiative (GVWSI) 2025 Conference (Harvard Global Vietnam Wars Studies Initiative (GVWSI) 2025 Conference)
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachussetts, USA
Organization: Harvard Global Vietnam Wars Studies Initiative
Event: Harvard Global Vietnam Wars Studies Initiative (GVWSI) 2025 Conference
CALL FOR PAPERS
Harvard Global Vietnam Wars Studies Initiative (GVWSI) 2025 Conference:
Fifty years have passed since North Vietnamese tanks rolled into Saigon in 1975, after decades of set-piece battles, guerrilla warfare involving a dozen combatant nations, and overlapping civil conflicts in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Although vigorously debated in the United States, the war’s meanings and implications remain unresolved. Vietnamese and other international perspectives are rarely studied, as most current research focuses primarily on American perceptions, experiences, and memories. As a result, we still struggle to tell the broader tragedy of the conflict, even as its ashes and embers continue to spread across the globe and through generations.
Content Priorities
This conference, organized by the Global Vietnam Wars Studies Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School, seeks to bring together informed assessments from around the globe to provide an evidence-based, in-depth exploration of this multifaceted war and its complex legacies. We invite proposals on the following themes:
- New assessments of the war itself — in its human, social, cultural, religious, economic, political, psychological, diplomatic, civilian, and military dimensions, including how these analyses have evolved since 1975.
- Insights from the communist bloc and non-communist allies, illuminating how different sides perceived victory, defeat and the enduring impacts on national identities.
Analysis of lessons learned by Vietnam, the U.S., and other former allies and adversaries, examining how these experiences have shaped policies, military strategies, and power structures over the past five decades. - Examination of how the war continues to challenge participating countries in their process of healing, reconciliation, and addressing war legacies in nation-building.
- The role of migration and the Vietnamese diaspora, focusing on their experiences and contributions, as well as their impact on the political, economic, and cultural landscapes of their new countries.
A deeper understanding of the wars’ global impact is vital for history and is also timely and essential for addressing current and future conflicts. Above all, we seek to foster intellectual, historical, and cultural exchanges across nations, communities, and generations, with a shared commitment to scholarship, reconciliation, and healing.
We invite scholars, researchers, veterans, and practitioners from around the world to submit paper proposals.
Our aim for bringing together these global viewpoints is to begin to bridge the gaps of the last half-century and offer new directions for future research and teaching on the Vietnam Wars and beyond.
Expected Date of Conference: October 3 – 4, 2025
Submission Guidelines
The Global Vietnam War Studies Initiative at the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia seeks the following information in a paper proposal:
- Abstract Title
- A 300-word abstract outlining the proposed paper presentation
- Brief Biography (max 150 words)
Additional dates and information:
- Submission Deadline: February 18, 2025
- Notification of Acceptance: By March 31, 2025
- Submission link: https://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0UFIY8gaB4n1ioS
- Submission Inquiries: Contact us via email at gvwsi@hks.harvard.edu
- Conference Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachussetts, USA
https://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0UFIY8gaB4n1ioS
Harvard Global Vietnam Wars Studies Initiative