The Journal of Historical Studies in Vietnamese Historiography

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the formation and development of the Văn Sử Địa Review and the Journal of Historical Studies over nearly seventy years of the Institute of History’s institutional growth. Established in 1954 amid the resistance war against French colonial rule, the Review became the first academic forum for Vietnam’s social sciences community and helped lay the foundations of revolutionary historiography. In 1959, the Journal of Historical Studies formally inherited and further developed the Review’s mission, becoming the official scholarly organ of the Institute of History. Through hundreds of issues and thousands of published studies, the Journal has offered comprehensive coverage of Vietnamese history from antiquity to the modern era, while also devoting attention to historical theory and methodology, world history, and contemporary concerns such as maritime and insular sovereignty, national renovation, and international integration. The article affirms the Journal’s role in advancing historical research and scholarly debate, disseminating historical knowledge, training generations of historians, and contributing to national construction and defence, thereby making a significant contribution to the development of modern Vietnamese historiography.