Vietnamese Objects — The Material Culture of Resilience in the Face of (de)colonization

Cà phê (coffee), cà phê phin (coffee filter), atisô (artichoke), xi nê ma (cinema), căng tin (canteen), xi-măng (cement), ghế tô nê (Thonet chair): In the Vietnamese language, many words and names of everyday objects clearly show their French origins. Through cultural anthropology, epistemology of Vietnamese design, and the sociology of objects, the research project ‘Objets Vietnamiens’ analyses the production of objects in Vietnam in the light of French colonization and decolonization. By means of reports, interviews, and research in various archival collections, the book reveals the mechanisms through which objects, foods, materials, and expertise became integrated into Vietnam to the point that they now display authentically Vietnamese characteristics. Through the prism of design and applied arts, Quang Vinh Nguyen and Émelie Laystary take a decolonial and critical look at the creativity and adaptability of a country that has managed to appropriate the techniques of a dominant power. The resulting research work also becomes an archive of the present and provides insight into everyday life in Vietnam then and now.