QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (WEEK 2)

What was life like for peasants in the Vietnamese countryside? What role did mandarins play in Vietnamese society? What was the role of family in Vietnamese life?

How did French colonialism affect Vietnamese traditions and life?

In what ways did mandarins and other Vietnamese elites see themselves as resisting French colonialism? Do you think their views were accurate or self-serving?

How did opposition to French colonialism change over the years?

Why did Ho Chi Minh and Communists emerge and prove effective in the early- to mid-twentieth century?