Research Bio

Peter Zinoman is a historian whose research focuses on modern Southeast Asia, colonialism, and Vietnamese history. His first book The Colonial Bastille: A History of Imprisonment in Vietnam, 1862–1940, examines the role of colonial prisons in shaping modern Vietnamese history. In another monograph, Vietnamese Colonial Republican: The Political Vision of Vũ Trọng Phụng, Zinoman explores the life, work, and complex reputation of Vietnam's greatest modern author.  Zinoman is the editor and co-translator of Dumb Luck: A Novel by Vũ Trọng Phụng, named one of the "best books of the year" by the L.A. Times.  In 2006, Zinoman founded the Journal of Vietnamese Studies at the University of California Press and he currently serves at its Editor in Chief.  He is currently writing a book on politics and culture in communist-ruled Hanoi during the 1950s. 

 

Research Expertise and Interest

Vietnam, Vietnam War, Vietnamese literature, Southeast Asian history, communism, nationalism, colonialism