54
Languages and Literature of China and South East Asia
UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI "L'ORIENTALE"
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE I_M
General objectives of the course:
The course aims to consolidate and deepen the linguistic and cultural skills acquired in previous levels, guiding students toward an advanced command of the Vietnamese language. Special emphasis is placed on the comprehension and production of complex texts, stylistic and pragmatic variation in formal and informal contexts, and the critical and comparative analysis of linguistic and cultural phenomena.
Ability to Apply Knowledge and Understanding
By the end of the course, students will be able to produce advanced written and spoken texts appropriate to context and communicative purpose; and to comprehend authentic texts of various types, including literary or specialized content.
General Course Objectives
The course aims to consolidate previously acquired language skills and promote the conscious use of Vietnamese in more complex, authentic, and intercultural communicative contexts. Instruction focuses on developing oral expression, reading comprehension, and linguistic mediation skills, while also deepening pragmatic and cultural awareness.
Ability to Apply Knowledge and Understanding
By the end of the course, students will be able to: actively participate in conversations on current issues; apply politeness strategies and manage communicative acts in both formal and informal settings; understand the importance of non-verbal components in intercultural communication; and carry out translation and linguistic-cultural mediation tasks with lexical and pragmatic awareness.
Further expected learning outcomes
Independent Judgment
Students will develop the ability to: reflect independently on linguistic, pragmatic, and translational issues; evaluate the appropriateness of linguistic usage and communicative registers across contexts; express well-reasoned opinions on cultural, rhetorical, and stylistic aspects of complex texts.
Communication Skills
Students will be able to engage in Vietnamese in structured communicative contexts, producing clear, coherent, and well-articulated arguments in both oral and written forms. They will manage formal and informal registers and participate in advanced-level conversations on current, cultural, and professional topics.
Learning Skills
Students will be able to continue studying Vietnamese language and culture independently, including in preparation for potential research projects, internships, or study abroad experiences.
VIETNAMESE LITERATURE I_M
General objectives of the course:
The course aims to provide students with critical and interpretive tools for analyzing representations of female experience in modern and contemporary Vietnamese literature. Through the study of narrative and poetic texts by Vietnamese women writers and authors from the diaspora, students will develop an understanding of how writing contributes to the construction of gender identity, the transmission of memory, and reflection on the relationship between the individual, society, and patriarchal culture. The course also seeks to foster an appreciation for the diversity of female literary perspectives.
Ability to apply knowledge and comprehension:
By the end of the course, students will be able to apply the knowledge acquired to critically analyze literary texts focused on women's experiences in the Vietnamese context. They will be able to identify recurring themes, narrative strategies, and stylistic features specific to the authors studied, and relate them to the historical and cultural context. Students will also be able to compare local and diasporic perspectives, developing independent and informed readings of gender dynamics in literature.
VIETNAMESE LITERATURE II_M
General objectives of the course:
The course aims to investigate the dialogue between written text and visual representation in Vietnamese literary culture, with particular attention to religious, spiritual, and mythological elements. Students will develop a critical understanding of how language and imagery work together to shape collective imagination, expressing visions of the sacred, cultural memory, and national identity.
Ability to apply knowledge and comprehension:
By the end of the course, students will be able to analyze Vietnamese literary and visual materials (including woodblock prints, illustrated narratives, and graphic novels) using interdisciplinary critical tools. They will be able to identify and interpret religious symbols and narrative structures that express spiritual and mythic dimensions, and relate diverse expressive forms to the broader Vietnamese cultural context.
Further expected learning outcomes
Independent Judgment:
Students will be able to critically present the authors and texts studied during the course, demonstrating textual analysis skills and the capacity to form autonomous judgments—skills which may also be applied to the evaluation of texts not explicitly covered in class.
Communication Skills:
By the end of the course, students should be able to discuss the course topics clearly and coherently, using accurate and field-specific terminology.
Learning Ability:
Students are expected to have developed the learning skills necessary to approach Vietnamese literary production with a good degree of independence.
Course Prerequisites
Access to the course requires an intermediate knowledge of the language.
Teaching Methods
Lectures will be delivered in a traditional (face-to-face) format, supported by PowerPoint presentations. Active participation from students is considered an integral part of the learning process.
Assessment Methods
VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE I & II_M
The final exam consists of a written and an oral test.
The written test, which is a prerequisite for the oral exam, includes listening comprehension exercises, grammar exercises, short translations, a composition, the reading of short passages followed by comprehension questions. The questions are both open-ended and multiple choice.
The oral exam includes conversations on linguistic and cultural topics covered during the course, questions on the Vietnamese language, and the reading and morphosyntactic analysis of a Vietnamese text.
Language in which the exam is held: Italian and Vietnamese.
Assessment criteria: Evaluation will take into account students’ overall preparation, class attendance and active participation, commitment to studying the entire syllabus, basic knowledge of Vietnamese cultural elements covered in the course, pronunciation accuracy, comprehension and interaction skills, and the ability to read and translate a passage containing previously studied vocabulary and grammatical structures, and to apply them in similar contexts.
VIETNAMESE LITERATURE_M
The final exam consists of an oral test focused on the reading, translation and analysis of texts studied during the course. Students are also expected to demonstrate a good knowledge of the historical and cultural context of Vietnamese literature.
Language in which the exam is held: Italian and Vietnamese.
Assessment criteria: Evaluation will consider the completeness of information, clarity of presentation, and the ability to make connections between the various topics covered.
Texts
VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE II_M
- Ngo, Binh, Vietnamese: An Essential Grammar, London/New York: Routledge, 2020.
- Nguyen, Dinh Hoa, Vietnamese, John Benjamins Pub Co, 1997.
- Roever, Carsten, Nguyen, Hanh Thi (eds.), Pragmatics of Vietnamese as native and target language, Honolulu: National Foreign Language Resource Center-University of Hawaii.
- Thoai N.L., Ton, Meaning as Use. The pragmatics of Vietnamese speech practice, in The Routledge Handbook of Asian Linguistics, Chris Shei & Saihong Li (eds.), 2022.
- Thompson, Laurence C., A Vietnamese Reference Grammar, Univ of Washington Press, 1965.
- Tung, Hoang, Advanced Vietnamese, Michigan State University Libraries, 2024.
VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE II_M
- Ngo, Binh, Vietnamese: An Essential Grammar, London/New York: Routledge, 2020.
- Nguyen, Dinh Hoa, Vietnamese, John Benjamins Pub Co, 1997.
- Roever, Carsten, Nguyen, Hanh Thi (eds.), Pragmatics of Vietnamese as native and target language, Honolulu: National Foreign Language Resource Center-University of Hawaii.
- Thoai N.L., Ton, Meaning as Use. The pragmatics of Vietnamese speech practice, in The Routledge Handbook of Asian Linguistics, Chris Shei & Saihong Li (eds.), 2022.
- Thompson, Laurence C., A Vietnamese Reference Grammar, Univ of Washington Press, 1965.
- Tung, Hoang, Advanced Vietnamese, Michigan State University Libraries, 2024.
VIETNAMESE LITERATURE I_M
- Ben, Tran, Post-Mandarin: Masculinity and Aesthetic Modernity in Colonial Vietnam, Fordham University Press, 1997.
- Le, Minh Khue, Fragile come un raggio di sole, ObarraO, 2010.
- Pelaud, Isabelle T., Duong, Lan, P., Nguyen, Viet T., The Cleaving: Vietnamese Writers in the Diaspora, University of California Press, 2025.
- Quan Manh Ha, Quynh H. Vo, Longings: Contemporary Fiction by Vietnamese Women Writers, Texas Tech University Press, 2024.
- Thuan, Chinatown, Tilted Axis Press, 2022.
- Nguyen, Binh Phuong, Un altro cielo, Atmosphere Libri, 2025.
- Phan, Hon Nhien, Cavallo d’acciaio, Atmosphere Libri, 2023.
VIETNAMESE LITERATURE II_M
- Balaban, John, Nguyen, Qui Duc, Vietnam: A Traveler’s Literary Companion, Whereabouts Press, 1996.
- Dutton, George E., Werner, Jayne, Whitmore, John, Sources of Vietnamese Tradition, New York: Columbia University Press, 2012.
- Nguyễn- Long Kerry, Vietnam Visual Arts in History, Religion & Culture, The Gioi, 2023
- Phong Duong, Long Thần Tướng, Phong Duong Comics, 2014.
- Thich, Nhat Hanh, Il cuore dell’insegnamento del Buddha, Milano: Ubiliber, 2025.
- Tran, The Phap, Linh Nam Chinh Quai, Kim Dong, 2017.
Note: The program for non-attending students is the same as that for attending students. Non-attending students are required to contact the instructor to receive details regarding the sections of Vietnamese literature texts to be prepared for the exam, as well as to request access to the teaching materials available on the Moodle platform in the dedicated section.
Contents
Course title: Vietnamese Language I_M
List of topics:
VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE I_M
1. Nominal and Verbal Phrases
2. Focal elements
3. Sentence syntactic structure
4. Communicative styles: discursive, linguistic, and conversational registers
5. Regional pronunciation variations
6. Written production in Vietnamese
VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE II_M
1. Conversation on current topics
2. Politeness strategies and communicative acts in Vietnamese
3. Youth language and new media
4. Gestural communication in intercultural contexts
5. Guided reading and analysis of authentic texts
6. Elements of translation and linguistic-cultural mediation
VIETNAMESE LITERATURE I_M
The course investigates female voices in Vietnamese literature, focusing on how women's experiences, memories, and bodies have been represented—and at times reclaimed—through literary expression. By engaging with modern and contemporary prose and poetry, students will explore themes such as the female condition during war and peacetime, the role of women within the family and society, and the transformation of gender identity between tradition and modernity.
The course will include works by women authors from Vietnam and the Vietnamese diaspora, offering a range of diverse and dialogical perspectives.
VIETNAMESE LITERATURE II_M
This course explores the intersections between literature and visual arts in Vietnam, with a particular focus on the religious, spiritual, and mythical dimensions. From traditional woodblock prints and illustrated premodern texts to contemporary graphic narratives (truyện tranh Việt), it will examine how written words and images interact in shaping collective imagination.
Through the study of foundational myths, folk tales, illustrated stories, and modern comics, students will investigate religious symbols, spiritual figures, and the narrative mechanisms through which Vietnamese culture expresses the sacred and a shared identity.
In addition, both Vietnamese Literature I_M and Vietnamese Literature II_M include activities of reading, analysis, and translation of selected passages from significant works of modern and contemporary Vietnamese literature.
Course Language
Italian, Vietnamese