Vietnam is studied and understood in myriad ways. Even so, much knowledge is framed by a few dominant paradigms. The concern of this volume – which applies a postmodern approach to knowledge production in area studies – is to highlight the value of knowledge diversity by challenging some of these paradigms and the myths shaped within them. It recognizes that myths are not simply mistakes hence does more than simply focus on debunking a dominant view of ‘Vietnam’. Rather, and more complexly, it explores myths a dynamic yet incomplete representations of Vietnam understood as a multiplicity that can never be captured as an entirety and which will continually undergo revisions as knowledge of Vietnam develops. The purpose of this volume, thus, is twofold: first, to identify problematic axiomatic knowledge and raise alternative possibilities and, second, to highlight the value of interdisciplinarity and methodologically diverse approaches in expanding and enhancing knowledge production.