Seminar introducing the memoir "The World of Learning and the Teacher"

Thursday - November 16, 2017 04:09

On the morning of November 15, 2017, the Faculty of Journalism and Communication (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) held a seminar to introduce the book “The World of Learning and the Teacher” by Professor, People's Teacher Ha Minh Duc. The author's latest memoir depicts portraits of many leading professors in the field of social sciences and humanities.

Attending the discussion were Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Minh Hoa (Vice Principal of the School), poet Huu Thinh (Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association), Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong (Head of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication) and many teachers and generations of students inside and outside the school who admire and love the works of Professor, People's Teacher Ha Minh Duc.

The book introduction seminar took place in an intimate and cozy atmosphere.

Speaking at the seminar, on behalf of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication, Associate Professor Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong sent a bouquet of flowers to congratulate Professor People's Teacher Ha Minh Duc on the occasion of his 69th book launch. She also expressed her sincere and deep gratitude for his great contributions to the research and training career at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication and to the School.

Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong and generations of students in the Faculty expressed their deep gratitude to Professor, People's Teacher Ha Minh Duc.

Also in a simple but extremely cozy atmosphere, Professor Ha Minh Duc shared memorable memories about teachers who had a great influence on his life and career. Among them, he had a particularly memorable memory about Professor Dang Thai Mai: “The first task Mr. Mai assigned me was to find some articles in newspapers in the library. After months, I found some articles that he told me to, then copied them carefully and presented them to him. I still remember one morning when I went to see him, he was sitting smoking and reading the newspaper. I handed him the documents I had recorded. After looking through them, with a serious face, he put the documents on the table and said: "All of these are worthless". I was bewildered and worried. He continued: "For an article, the important thing is everything related to it. The author's name, year of writing, where it was printed, the time of publication, the name of the newspaper... you did not pay attention and wrote them carelessly, so this document cannot be used". Since then, in my research and teaching life, I have always remembered this lesson.”.

Professor, People's Teacher Ha Minh Duc shares profound memories about the scientists mentioned in the memoir.

Talking about the circumstances of the book's birth, Professor Ha Minh Duc said that each story was written by him in special circumstances, such as when he wrote about Professor Dang Thai Mai at the time when the teacher-student relationship was the closest, or when he wrote about Professor Tran Quoc Vuong, Professor Phan Cu De... when he was happy or especially moved.

The book “The World of Learning and the Teacher” has a continuous flow of memories recounted to portray the simple, rustic but respectable portraits of 27 famous scientists and teachers. As in the opening of the book, the author writes “The Fairy Garden of the Teacher” with the memories mentioned recalling a “sanctuary” of the country’s university education, specifically the lecture hall at 19 Le Thanh Tong, Hanoi.

Poet Huu Thinh shared: "With all I know, I understand about Professor, People's Teacher Ha Minh Duc, allowing me to affirm that Professor, People's Teacher Ha Minh Duc is a great intellectual, a great teacher, an exemplary personality of Vietnamese knowledge.

This book is the 10th collection of memoirs by Professor Ha Minh Duc after other collections such as: "The Professor and the Hermit", "Three Visits to America", "Ramblings at the Umbrella Head"... In this collection of portraits, Professor Ha Minh Duc focuses on the people he respects and is attached to with the intention of creating portraits of each teacher as a personality that respects the principles of "truth - goodness - beauty".

From small fragments of memory, the author has strung together and pieced together the characteristic personality traits of each character. Articles such as “Dang Thai Mai, quiet and erudite”, “Nguyen Luong Ngoc, talented and virtuous”, “The remaining story of Professor Bui Van Nguyen”… are imbued with the author’s feelings, gratitude and sincere admiration for the scientists and leading experts of Vietnamese social sciences and humanities at that time.

Some beautiful pictures at the seminar "Learning and Teachers":

Professor, People's Teacher Ha Minh Duc took a souvenir photo with teachers at the school

Three generations of teachers and students of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Minh Hoa listens to the sharing from the People's Police Publishing House - the unit that organized the printing of the book.

Dr. Doan Huong congratulates Professor, People's Teacher Ha Minh Duc on the launch of his 69th book.

Representatives of the People's Public Security Publishing House and teachers of the School beamed with joy next to Professor, People's Teacher Ha Minh Duc)

Professor Ha Minh Duc was born in Thanh Hoa. During the resistance war against the French, he studied in the free zone. After peace was restored in the North of our country, he passed the entrance exam to the Faculty of Literature, Hanoi Pedagogical University.

During the three years of study from 1954 to 1957, Professor and People's Teacher Ha Minh Duc was fortunate to study with many erudite teachers, scientists, and great cultural figures who were also teachers who loved their students with all their heart. To express his deep gratitude to the teachers and classmates who had a great influence on his life and career, he wrote and collected scientific portraits to publish a meaningful book on the occasion of the Vietnamese Teachers' Day on November 20.