“Her name is Lam Thi Dep (Dep means beautiful in Vietnamese), the picture was taken in 1972 at Soc Trang Province by Vietnamese journalist Minh Truong. “You could find women like her almost everywhere during the war”, said the photographer. “She was only 24 years old but had been widowed twice. Both her husbands were soldiers”. She’s wielding a M-16, the standard issue American soldier’s rifle. Usually this type of photos were taken for propaganda purposes. North Vietnamese women were deeply involved at all levels of the military campaign throughout the war, especially at the business end, fighting against the American-led forces in the jungle.” https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/female-viet-cong-guerrila-1972/
A person’s analysis of the photo of Lam Thi Dep is colored by background, nationality, specialty, etc. An American historian’s view of the photo might be much different than a Vietnamese gender studies student. Their narrow focus has the potential to lead to difficulties.
November 2020 TOK Essay Prescribed Title #3 requires students to find RLEs where an insular perspective causes problems. Look for RLEs where peoples’ Different Perspectives lead to real issues with the acquisition of knowledge.
