Mid-Summer Check-In
Over the past few weeks, I have been visiting libraries and archives around my home country, as well as gathering necessary credentials to access documents relevant to my research. I have wrapped up the literature review and Part A of the research project which examines the theological background of Buddhism in Vietnam, studying its beliefs through the lens of lived experiences rather than text-based codified Buddhism as conventionally studied in Western academia. I have also completed the first section of Part B in my project, which examines the relationship between the state and faith in the country, in particular how the government engages with the country's most prominent organized religion - Buddhism.
I have largely stuck to the research plan, albeit I have expanded the second part of my project into two sections, given the unprecedented level of access I was fortunate enough to have with important documents to my research.
What I never expected was how difficult obtaining documents can be for an undergraduate researcher, and the process needed to obtain relevant credentials in accessing private archives. Although this is probably specific to the research environment in my home country, I still think it is an unexpected experience with many humbling takeaway lessons.
The past 3 weeks of being a researcher has shown me how rewarding but demanding academic work can be. The process of accessing literature and bringing together such an incredible amount of information is a challenging affair, and can be a lot to take in at times. Although I have written many papers in class, this research project was a more significant academic undertaking than most assignments I have gone through, on account of how much there is go around.
Nevertheless, I am confident in my learning curve and has been able to, with significant help from my mentor, move forward with my research work and develop research techniques such as mind-mapping in non-quantitative research to better unpack the information. What has worked was my system of coherent weekly research report with all the information gathered to my supervisor, who was very satisfied reading it. I believe it is a neat, applicable method of tracking the research progress without quantitative methods.
Moving forward, in the next three weeks, I still need to continue working on my time management skills and expand further on my research skills. I have already started putting together a rough visual draft of the final research poster, and I look forward to completing it in the coming few weeks.
Dung Tran is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, majoring in International Politics with a concentration on foreign policy and international relations and a minor in government. He is a Fellow at the Royal Society of Arts, and interned at the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is involved with the Laidlaw Scholars programme, the Georgetown Social Innovation and Public Service Fund, and the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues. A native of Hanoi, Vietnam, and growing up in New York City and Kuala Lumpur, Dung is passionate about the interdisciplinary human sciences and international relations, aspiring to pursue a career in the diplomatic service of his home country. His Laidlaw Scholars project examined the sui generis of Vietnamese Buddhism and its impacts on the development of contemporary Vietnamese shared identity.
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I am very impressed with how far you have gotten in your project and how much research material you've collected so far. Although I'm studying a legal provision, I empathize with you because there are very few resources that are free and available to the general public or an undergraduate student. However, your commitment has shown through, by creating such an intriguing project. This past semester, I took a Religion in Ethics and World Affairs class, so I have some prior knowledge on this topics. With that being said, I would love to see the in-depth explanation of your topic and how you implement the foundation's principles into it. Keep up the good work.