Thu Phuong Tran

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Email: pttran6@wics.edu

Address:
Advisor: Anne Hansen

Thu Phuong Tran headshot

Biography

I completed my Bachelor’s degree in History as part of the first undergraduate cohort at Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV). My undergraduate thesis, titled “Understanding and Re-defining “Pháp-nạn”: Thích Trí Quang and Buddhist Activism in the Vietnam War (1951-1967), sought to reconceptualize the binary Communist and non-Communist interpretations of South Vietnam’s actors’ political engagement by re-evaluating the role of Thích Trí Quang, a radical Buddhist who adhered to a neutral stance despite his skepticism about Communism, the Republic of Vietnam, and the US.

For my graduate project, I want to conduct a comparative study of Vietnamese and Thai Buddhist political engagement starting from the 1950s. By using this transnational approach, I hope to reveal the political dynamics and nationalist aspiration to which Buddhist movements in Vietnam are understood. I hope my work will encourage original discussions among scholars eager to understand Vietnamese Buddhism, its transregional connections, and its impact on Buddhist political engagement in Southeast Asia.

Education

B.A., (with Honors) Fulbright University Vietnam

Field

  • Southeast Asian History