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This advance notice presents the upcoming Exploring Vietnam online learning program and its tentative outline of eight series. Details for each series will be available at www.ilearnforum.com from October 2026; the first series starts on July 5, 2027. Check the website regularly for schedules, registration, fees, and further updates. Those who enroll for this announcement will receive updates through the My Learning page. Description of the Scope of the Exploring Vietnam: Peoples, History, Culture, and Society — Online Learning with Optional On-Site Visits Program Exploring Vietnam: Peoples, History, Culture, and Society — Online Learning with Optional On-Site Visits invites you to explore Vietnam through its peoples, including the Việt and ethnic minority communities, and their history, culture, and society. Trace its history from the Đông Sơn period before Chinese domination through independence and successive dynasties to the Nguyễn dynasty before French colonialism. The study of Vietnam’s peoples explores communities in present-day Vietnam, their linguistic diversity, social and cultural practices, livelihoods, and relationships with local environments. Where possible, the module examines how communities describe themselves, how accounts and material evidence help reconstruct their histories, and how contact, trade, and state formation have shaped them and their relationships. These questions recognize diversity within and across communities rather than treating identities or customs as fixed. This focus on peoples is integrated into discussions of Vietnam’s history, culture, and society wherever possible. Historical inquiry covers three broad areas: the pre-Chinese era, including the Đông Sơn period, examined through archaeological evidence and later written accounts with attention to their limitations; the period of Chinese domination, approached through governance, cultural exchange, and local responses; and independence, explored through state formation, successive dynasties from the Lý to the Nguyễn, relations with China and neighboring societies, and southward expansion into Champa. Social inquiry examines Việt and ethnic minority communities, with particular attention to Việt society. Topics include villages’ roles in community life and relations with the state; family and kinship as foundations of social relationships and responsibilities; women’s roles in family, community, and economic life across contexts and over time; and scholars’ roles in education, governance, and local society. Throughout, the module recognizes diversity within and across communities and avoids stereotypes and discrimination. Cultural inquiry explores approaches that situate Vietnam within Southeast Asia and East Asia. Topics include broader Southeast Asian patterns; the introduction, selective adoption, reinterpretation, and localization of Chinese ideas and practices; and Champa’s influence on Vietnamese cultural life. The module also examines the adoption of Buddhism, the shift from Buddhist patronage toward Confucian state principles, and the persistence of Buddhist traditions. Across these themes, it considers local agency, cultural exchange, continuity and change, cultural origins, folk culture, and culture’s role in resistance to foreign powers. Program Structure Explore Vietnam through interconnected overview lectures and online site visits in the iLearnforum SoutheastAsiaExplore Series. This experimental program draws on existing works on Vietnam, with topic-specific slides and pre-recorded visits bringing you closer to an on-site experience. The instructor develops materials throughout the year, offering perspectives shaped by particular times and places. When demand is sufficient, the program works with local tour operators and scholars to offer optional firsthand learning experiences in Vietnam. The Vietnam program is provisionally organized into the following eight series: Series 1: Pre-Modern States in Present-Day Vietnam Series 2: The Citadel of Thăng Long-Hà Nội Series 3: Đàng Trong, Central Vietnam, and the Citadel of Huế Series 4: Đại Việt and the Kingdom of Champa Series 5: Việt Villages in Vietnamese History Series 6: Heroic Peoples, Heroic Nations Series 7: The Four Immortals of the Việt Series 8: Vietnam’s Peoples and Cultures: From the Museum of Ethnology and the Instructor’s Field Work