Industrializing in the Emporer’s Shadow–the Red River of Northern Vietnam [Research Assistantship]

Department: Political Science
Professor Alasdair Bowie
Project Description: This is a chapter in a larger book manuscript on the role of local (provincial, district) governments in the contemporary economic development of Vietnam and Indonesia. I have a completed draft of this chapter which relies primarily upon field research and data on two provinces of the Red River Delta, collected while I was a Fulbright research scholar in Vietnam in 2011. I welcome help finding sources to update and supplement statistical and empirical data in the chapter. I also hope to supplement the treatment of the two provinces with some brief, thumbnail treatments of 2-3 other provinces in this region of Vietnam.
Duties: I seek an undergraduate RA with experience of writing research papers in disciplines such as political science, international affairs or history (to name but a few). She/he should possess well developed abilities to use the databases available through the Gelman Library website to identify and access statistical and empirical data. She/he should also be a self-motivated and indefatigable searcher for scholarly and authoritative sources online. Her/his tasks will involve helping me find sources to update and supplement
statistical and empirical data in the chapter. I also hope to she/he will help me supplement the treatment of the two provinces that are the focus of the existing chapter draft with some brief, thumbnail treatments of 2-3 other provinces located in this northern region of Vietnam. The student need not be familiar with Vietnam or have any knowledge of the Vietnamese language. However, she/he should be innovative in using Google Translate (or other online tools) to navigate sites that are primarily in Vietnamese and to find comparable English-language sources where available. Although the student should undertake the required research in her/his own time, and the primary method of reporting on her/his research will be by email, I would expect to meet with the student to discuss in person reports and updates on Tuesday afternoons in my office for 20-30 minutes between 1:00 and 3:30, initially on a weekly basis (perhaps less frequently as the semester goes on). The student would need to be available at some time during this window.
Time Commitment/Credits: 7-9 hours per week (average); 3 credits
To Apply: Submit Cover Letter/Resume to abowie@gwu.edu