It is always wise to be flexible within experimental electronic scholarship. This particular proposal ended up being impossible to undertake due to copyright issues. After I got a quote from the Vietnamese authorities in Hanoi of US$2000 per minute to use footage from their newly released war footage archive I knew that a drastic change of direction was needed.

However, the underlying motivation to advance the humanities processes in the use of the Internet has always been a constant.

Imagining Vietnam: Constructions of Vietnam (1945-
1965)

Application for Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) ,
RMIT University, Department of Visual Communication,
Faculty of Art, Design and Communication

Craig Bellamy BA (Hons) MA

May, 1999

The struggle over geography in which we are all a part is complex and interesting because it is not only about soldiers and cannons but also about ideas; about forms about images and imaginations.

Edward Said, Culture and Imperialism, p6.

Summary of Project

The rationale behind this study is twofold: firstly, I wish to investigate an important historical question within a contemporary historiographical and disciplinary framework, and secondly, I wish to investigate this question using on-line interactive media as a means to cultivate this tool to aid us in our understandings of significant aspects of the human past.

The historical question that I wish to consider is how did the Australian media (in particular the Australian government broadcaster the ABC and the Melbourne based Age newspaper) portray Vietnam from the end of the second world war in 1945 to the landing of American troops at Danang in 1965? How did Australians portray the imperial war of the French up until the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954? How and what circumstances led to the invasion by American and then Australian troops? Both the Age newspaper and the ABC have been fundamental in forming and gauging public opinion in the period. The ABC with its radio broadcasts (and from 1956, television) together with the Age form a effective media scape to view this tumultuous historical epoch.

Section A: What in the Research Program?

The purpose of this study is to investigate how various mediums, be they television, radio, print, film or music, were used in an Australian context to create 'Imaginings' of Vietnam between the (yet to be refined) time-frame of 1945-1965. The period and country are of historical significance as Vietnam is a site of resistance for two of the great Imperial powers of the twentieth century (being France and the US). The historical resources available are immense as Vietnam is probably the most media-constructed countries in our region. The National Australian Archives, The Australian War Memorial in Canberra and the ABC are just a few of the archives that have readily available primary evidence. The time frame 1945-1965 is within the period when the mass-mediums of film, radio, popular magazines and especially television were in general use and were used to construct 'otherness'. The web-based hypertextual linking of these various sources, coupled with a pertinent history-narrative interface, is an innovative and useful application of hypertext towards a specific historical question.

The project will be positioned within recent historiographical post-colonial debates from authors such as Nicholas Thomas (Colonialism's Culture) Edward Said (Culture and Imperialism) and Mary Louis Pratt (Imperial Eyes), The project will be presented as both a web-based hypermedia project plus a 50 000 word written thesis. Both the thesis and web-based document will complement each other and help to position a new-media expression beside a more traditional form.

Section B: Why this research program?

The rationale behind this study is twofold; firstly I wish to investigate a specific historical question using historical method within a contemporary historiographical and disciplinary framework. And secondly I wish to investigate this question using interactive multimedia because I will be confronting issues that cannot effectively be expressed in other mediums.

The field of post-colonial history is a rich and inspiring field drawing on the works on some of the most exciting scholars in contemporary historiography. The field addresses questions of 'otherness' and attempts to explore the cultural interface between race, ethnicity and geographical region. At present, most scholars concentrate on textual representations of 'otherness' through vehicles such as the novel or history books. The application of multimedia to the post-colonial debate draws on a whole new range of sources and expressions that have not previously been used. The use of these sources will contribute to both our understanding of post-colonialism and indeed web-based multimedia. It will hopefully also contribute to our understandings of how we as Australians have constructed one of our Asia neighbours in the past and perhaps help us to understand some of our contemporary volatile cultural misconceptions.

Section C. How will you undertake this research?

Initially, I will need to refine the question and the period of focus to ascertain the availability of the evidence. This will involve a great deal of reading within the framework of post-colonial historiography, as well as making contact with other scholars working within my field of interest. (Presently I am a member of the Australian Historical Association, the international body of the Association of History and Computing as well as the new-media editor of the Electronic Journal of Australian and New Zealand History. I have also been nominated as a moderator/ editor of the Australian H-Net history list called H-ANZAU, a branch of the US-based H-Net network).

After reading the secondary material in the field, in the attempt to define the topic and place my question appropriately within the field, I will then need to survey the primary sources available and the issues relating to access and suitability, At this early stage I expect research and definition to constitute the first year of the study and the physical construction of the project and writing of thesis the second or even third year.

For support I have the encouragement of a number of Historians working within the field of history and computing. (Dr Alan Mayne, School of History, The University of Melbourne and Associate Professor Paul Turnbull of ANU's Centre for Cross-Cultural Research have offered assistance and peer review). The support of these individuals will assure that I find a workable balance between the medium and the message. In terms of resources, I do not envisage that this web project will be an expensive or technically inaccessible endeavour beyond generally available computing products (like software, scanners, and video editing equipment).

The outcome and aims of the project will be achieved if it can be determined if web based hypertext can successfully communicate the knowledge and skills of the discipline of history through focusing upon a pertinent historical question. The development of hypertext, both technologically and as a means of communicating history, is decentralised and somewhat patchy. This is a reflection of the multiplicity of use of these new mediums as opposed to the somewhat established authorial practices of the standardised modern book. By positioning well both my historical question and use of the new medium, I will endeavour to convey to my audience how Vietnam was constructed between 1945-1665 in a post-colonial context. Hopefully the fertile relationship between traditional thesis presentation and multimedia will also be revealed.

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Authored by Craig BellamyŠ 1999, 2000, 2001

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