Vietnam, social transformation, urban classes, motorbikes, social values
Abstract
The motorcycle is an unavoidable item in contemporary Vietnam. Since the renovation policy (Doi Moi) in 1986, it became the most visible good of consumption. This article questions the utilitarian and symbolic use that is made by the urban populations of two major cities of the country: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. This article addresses the question of the new values and social transformation within the post-socialist society in Vietnam, as seem to symbolize the social behaviours related to the use of motorbikes. Amongst others, it analyses the use of the motorcycle as a place of intimacy in a society where the State still widely shapes the private and public spaces. Actually, the motorcycle establishes a sphere of intimacy in the way people have appropriated the object in their social practice. The author also describes certain ritual phenomena associated to the use of motorcycles, such as the illegal races, which contribute to the construction of the masculine identity.
Author Biography
Alexandre Dormeier Freire, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
The author is a senior lecturer and researcher at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. As a sociologist, he worked mainly on education and governance issues in Indonesia and Vietnam with a special focus on skills development, labour market transformations and poverty reduction in Vietnam. He has published in French several articles on Vietnam for the most part on topics related to education. He is currently working on the (World Trade Organization (WTO) impacts on education and training in Vietnam. The author is also the Asian coordinator of the International Executive Master (IMAS) based in Hanoi. His profile is accessible on the website: http://graduateinstitute.ch. Address: Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Rue Rothschild 20, 1201 Geneva; Phone: +41-22-906-45-15; email: alexandre.freire@iued.unige.ch
