TUNG THU WOMEN'S BOOKSHELF Honoring the noble qualities of women

Since 2018, the Vietnam Women's Publishing House (PN) has launched the PN book series, publishing books on women's ideology and issues. The book series provides a comprehensive and systematic view of gender and development issues, the role and contributions of Vietnamese women from the past to the present in all aspects of politics - culture - society - economy... contributing to the building of a harmonious and sustainable Vietnamese society.

Systematic bookshelf on ideology and issues related to women. Photo: Vietnamese Women Publishing House

Multidimensional perspective

PN library is organized into 4 categories: reference, documents; anthologies, selected; research and translation.

According to Ms. Khuc Thi Hoa Phuong - Editor-in-Chief of PN Vietnam Publishing House, "PN tung thu" represents the preservation, storage, and maintenance of national identity. At the same time, aiming at modern values, it is the systematization of issues when researchers want to approach, when readers want to approach, they will find systematic issues here.

With the content of the compilation, PN Tung Thu focuses on researching domestic press sources in the early 20th century (Dong Duong Magazine, Trung Bac Tan Van, Luc Tinh Tan Van, Nam Phong, PN Tan Van, PN Thoi Dam, Phong Hoa, Ngay Nay...) articles on "the issue of PN in our country", when the issue of PN in this period became an important part in the country's modernization process in both social, political and revolutionary aspects.

Through research and publication into books, PN series helps readers have a relatively systematic picture of the history of PN, feminism, and the PN movement in the early 20th century in Vietnam.

Typical authors with many articles on women and women's issues in the early 20th century are: Dam Phuong female historian, Phan Boi Chau, Nguyen Van Vinh, Phan Khoi, Pham Quynh, Huynh Thi Bao Hoa, Dang Van Bay, Dao Duy Anh...

In the translated books section, the bookshelf introduces a number of notable authors and gender research works such as “Feminism is for Everybody” by Bell Hooks - Professor of Humanities and Arts, who worked at many prestigious universities in the United States, feminist thinker, educator , and social activist.

Ms. Khuc Thi Hoa Phuong - Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Women's Publishing House shares about books with students at Nguyen Thong High School. Photo: PHUONG THUY

She wrote the book with the aim of spreading the correct understanding of feminism, which she said “is an ideological and social movement aimed at ending all forms of gender prejudice, exploitation and oppression”.

The book is truly a handbook that interprets the contents of feminism, which is considered a highly academic and scholarly field, into popular and common knowledge.

Notable works are “Antigone’s Claim” and “Gender Trouble” by author Judith Butler. She is a philosopher and influential researcher in the world .

The book “The Claim of Angtigone” has been called “one of the most important works of scholarship in the last 50 years” and “such a reading of a classical text comes along only once every 2,500 years or so.”

This is also a difficult book in terms of academics but has had a strong impact on the struggle for gender, the rights of minorities and disadvantaged groups and has had an impact on policy makers.

Additionally, Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique was a seminal book of the second feminist movement, filled with revealing perspectives, fascinating anecdotes and interviews, and fresh, insightful insights that continue to inspire.

The book “Key Concepts in Gender Research” by Janen Pilcher and Imelda Wheleman provides quite a complete overview of the concepts in modern gender research today…

Spreading traditional values

Applying digital technology, the bookshelf has received positive reception from readers, especially young people.

The book introduction livestream attracted thousands of followers. The book introduction sessions were lively, many young people actively interacted and asked in-depth and critical questions, along with some academic debates.

Young people are also proactive in buying books and collecting special editions. Some people collect the entire set of books and when they finish reading them, they share them on social networks, spreading the value of the books…

Ms. Phan Thu Thao (Cang Long commune) shared: “I always look for good books to give as gifts to friends and relatives. On October 20, I bought my mother the book “Dam Phuong Nu Su: The Issue of Women in Our Country”. Dam Phuong is the granddaughter of King Minh Mang. She is a poet and a famous social and cultural activist for the progress of women and the development of the country. Reading the page written hundreds of years ago, I cannot help but admire the wisdom and innovative ideas that still have value today”.

In addition to the advisory group of different ages, the authors of the PN book series are young lecturers and researchers. It is the young lecturers and researchers who have changed the way of working towards increasing interaction and spreading values about gender studies, about modern feminism or about current ways of implementing gender equality.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Minh is a translator, proofreader of translated books published in the PN library and co-founder of “The ladder - Academic space for the community”, a space for connecting and sharing of people who love knowledge, with the “desire to make academic knowledge more accessible and accessible to everyone, especially young Vietnamese people”. She and her colleagues regularly organize sharing sessions on gender studies with young people.

More than 20 books are like a "library" introducing, publishing and archiving documents about the role and contributions of Vietnamese women throughout the history of the nation in all aspects.

The shared knowledge can help policymakers develop policies that best promote the potential and strengths of women, address gender inequality issues, and contribute to building a harmonious and sustainable Vietnamese society.

The bookshelf has created a trend of interest in reading books on feminism and gender philosophy - a new field in the world today.

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Source: https://baovinhlong.com.vn/van-hoa-giai-tri/202510/tu-sach-phu-nu-tung-thu-ton-vinh-pham-chat-cao-dep-cua-nguoi-phu-nu-79d04b6/