Author Archives: Tiên-Dung Hà

Hà is a PhD student in Anthropology at Stanford University. Her research interests are concerned with anthropology of science, postcolonial science, genomics and identity, and postwar reparation and reconciliation in Vietnam.
tdha@stanford.edu | Assemblage Profile
A lifelike statue of a Vietnamese soldier in combat fatigues kneels behind a small bunker and aims a fake rifle at the viewer in a threatening manner.

Homecoming: Tasting Death in a Vietnamese Forensic Laboratory 

Tiên-Dung Hà June 10, 2025
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Hội An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Quảng Nam province in Central Việt Nam. In the daylight, Hội An dazzles with architectural riches reflecting its history as a trading port and cultural hub: well-preserved wooden Chinese shophouses, French colonial buildings, traditional Vietnamese tube houses, and Japanese covered bridges. By night, the town is illuminated with colorful lanterns crafted from bamboo, adorned with silk, and fashioned into elaborate shapes, like bánh ú– a traditional Vietnamese glutinous rice cake. These lanterns serve as symbols of reverence for Gods and ancestors, while also representing wishes for luck, prosperity, and peace. Off the bustling main street Lý Thường Kiệt, nestled away in an alley just wide enough for a car, sits Nhà Lao Hội An (Hội An Prison). The building is reclusive and unassuming amid the charming city of its namesake. The prison in this serene and ancient town bore witness to some of the most intense fighting in the region’s history. (read more...)

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Naming the Virus, Becoming the Virus: Affective Forces of Threat from Hà Nội to Atlanta and the Possibility for Anti-Racist Solidarities

Tiên-Dung Hà July 6, 2021

“Chống dịch như chống giặc” (“Fight the pandemic like an invader”) has become Vietnam’s slogan in its battle against COVID-19. From the pandemic’s onset until April 2021, Vietnam performed exceptionally in halting the viral spread and preventing deaths from COVID-19. While COVID-19’s origin remains contested, Vietnam’s 1,306km border with China posed an acute risk during the first wave in early 2020. Defying odds, Vietnam kept the virus at bay. With a low case load and death count between Jan 2020 – June 2020, Vietnam stood out from its northern neighbor, China, as well as other European countries and the United States. Simply crediting Vietnam’s success to an authoritarian regime misses a deeper distrust of the Chinese government within Vietnam. This distrust stems from the historical colonization of China over Vietnam and imminent military and sovereignty threats posed in the East Sea (or the South China Sea) over the Spratly and Paracel Islands. (read more...)

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