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Short stay

Olga
DROR

History - United States

Contact details

Email.
olgadror@tamu.edu
Personal Website.
https://tamu.academia.edu/OlgaDror

Research topics

PROJECT

Ho Chi Minh’s Cult in Vietnamese Statehood

The focus of this project is the cult of personality of Ho Chi Minh, the first president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The project will trace the origins of Ho Chi Minh’s veneration and his own role in promoting his image not only as the leader of the nation but as the Uncle, the head of the Vietnamese national family. The project contextualizes Ho Chi Minh’s cult in the Vietnamese long durée of cultural and religious history. It considers the creators and receivers of his cult among different groups in the population at different times in Vietnam and abroad and the influence that this cult exerted, thus analyzing the phenomenon of Ho Chi Minh’s cult on a global scale. It will put his cult in a comparative perspective with other communist personality cults.
The book will be based on archival resources in Vietnam, France, Russia, and other countries, on publications authored by and about Ho Chi Minh, art works, and films created in Vietnam and abroad. It will be the first work on Ho Chi Minh’s cult.

Activities / Resume

BIOGRAPHY

Olga Dror is a Professor of Asian History at Texas A&M University who worked on Vietnamese and Chinese religions, European missionaries, and on the experiences of the civilians during the war in Vietnam. Her current project is focused on Ho Chi Minh’s cult of personality. She is a recipient of numerous prestigious American and international fellowships.