Affective mobilizations for the victims of agent orange and its aftermath
17 April 2026, 5pm - 6:30pm (Vietnam Time, UTC +7)
Hosted by EFEO at Ho Chi Minh City
113 Hai Bà Trưng, quân 1
Following the spraying of Vietnam with Agent Orange during the Second Indochina War, many health and ecological consequences remain in contemporary Vietnam. These aftermaths have given rise to many different forms of mobilization, notably in Vietnam and the United States, but also - and this is much less well documented – in France. In France, these activities are largely structured by the lawsuits brought against the companies that produced Agent Orange. These issues are in constant circulation between France and Vietnam, and also give rise to a number of artistic expressions and political demands for justice for the victims of Agent Orange. Rooted in engaged anthropology, this research proposes to document and investigate contemporary mobilizations in France and Vietnam in favor of the victims of Agent Orange.
Marvin Freyne is a PhD Candidate in Anthropology at Université Paris Cité, affiliated with the Centre Population & Development (CEPED – UMR 196 : Université Paris Cité, IRD, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Inserm), University of Social Sciences and Humanities of Ho Chi Minh City, IRASEC, and the EFEO. Supervised by Pr. Laëtitia Atlani-Duault (IRD/CEPED) and Pr. Myriam de Loenzien (IRD/CEPED), his dissertation examines the ongoing mobilizations in Vietnam and France of those affected by Agent Orange. Through this lens, he explores what is to be done about the inexorable aftermath of chemical warfare and ecocide.
