Overview

For Weeks 4 to 6, I worked towards assembling the final parts of my project, which is showing how Buddhism has interacted with Vietnamese culture and society in the contemporary era. I expect the conclusions and methodology for this section to be entirely qualitative, however, I will be including a small pie chart to show the disposition of religions in contemporary Vietnam as reported by state census bureaus and other newspapers-run surveys. I have worked with my mentor to outline what we believe should be covered in the final deliverable for this part of the project. We expect the project to wrap up very soon. 

Future Plans

Moving forward, I anticipate to finalize everything in the deliverable and have it ready by the deadline. Due to some logistical difficulties and other unexpected problems that arose during Weeks 5 and 6, the work was delayed for some time. However, with some effort on both ends, the project is now on track to completion by the final deadline. I am excited to complete the Programme with a breadth of skills having gained from the experience. 

Reflection

Not being in the U.S. and on campus during the summer has hampered my ability to enjoy the Laidlaw Programme in its completion. I felt disconnected and lost many times during the early weeks of the program, and having to reassure myself that the work I am doing is relevant and meaningful to the overall mission of the Programme, as well as finding ways to continually engage with the benefits the Programme offers. Nevertheless, this was a transformative experience being part of an academic research community, and the Programme has allowed me to explore my passion for an extremely niche area of humanities research that I would have never been able to do so outside of a Theology classroom. I am grateful to the Programme for enabling me to pursue this dream of mine.