Spotlights
Humans of St. Norbert: Anh Sy Huy Le
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Research
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Humans of St. Norbert: Anh Sy Huy Le
Humans of St. Norbert:
“I am first and foremost an international researcher. Particularly, I study the history of the migration community, the Chinese people that migrated from Southern China to Vietnam during the colonial period. Travel is part of my identity and I need to travel to be able to do research. It provided me with a way to get to know people, to get to know my roots, to get to know other languages. South East Asia is a region of very diverse people and an amazing range of languages being spoken. [In college,] I started as an economics major but I did not want to be an economist. Through traveling, I decided history was something that I should be studying because it was important for me personally.
“I am originally from Vietnam so, of course, I have a very strong connection there. Home is quite complicated for me because I spent so many years outside [of the country]. Even though I am Vietnamese, I don't know the country as well as the people there. I left when I was 16 years old, so at this point, I have spent more than 50 percent of my life outside Vietnam. Another place I [really enjoy] is China. I think China is such an amazing place to understand the contradictions of society in the modern world. It's a place where you can see really wealthy people and great things about modernization, but it is also a place of poverty and inequalities that coexist. As you travel, you see through the facade of what a modern society means.
“In graduate school, I traveled extensively for my research as well as hobbies. Seeing others’ lives and putting yourself in their shoes develops that very important skill of ethics. This is extremely important for me and has allowed me to see the world in a very different light. In my class, I keep talking to my students about comparisons. If you are learning about Asia, for example, you should learn and compare the perspectives. What story about Asia is teaching you about the United States and vice versa. That is the truly valuable part of teaching history and traveling.” – Anh Sy Huy Le, assistant professor of history
“I am first and foremost an international researcher. Particularly, I study the history of the migration community, the Chinese people that migrated from Southern China to Vietnam during the colonial period. Travel is part of my identity and I need to travel to be able to do research. It provided me with a way to get to know people, to get to know my roots, to get to know other languages. South East Asia is a region of very diverse people and an amazing range of languages being spoken. [In college,] I started as an economics major but I did not want to be an economist. Through traveling, I decided history was something that I should be studying because it was important for me personally.
“I am originally from Vietnam so, of course, I have a very strong connection there. Home is quite complicated for me because I spent so many years outside [of the country]. Even though I am Vietnamese, I don't know the country as well as the people there. I left when I was 16 years old, so at this point, I have spent more than 50 percent of my life outside Vietnam. Another place I [really enjoy] is China. I think China is such an amazing place to understand the contradictions of society in the modern world. It's a place where you can see really wealthy people and great things about modernization, but it is also a place of poverty and inequalities that coexist. As you travel, you see through the facade of what a modern society means.
“In graduate school, I traveled extensively for my research as well as hobbies. Seeing others’ lives and putting yourself in their shoes develops that very important skill of ethics. This is extremely important for me and has allowed me to see the world in a very different light. In my class, I keep talking to my students about comparisons. If you are learning about Asia, for example, you should learn and compare the perspectives. What story about Asia is teaching you about the United States and vice versa. That is the truly valuable part of teaching history and traveling.” – Anh Sy Huy Le, assistant professor of history
