The department of Film and Media Studies is pleased to celebrate Kien Minh Le, the program's first Ph.D. recipient. Choosing to focus his dissertation on institutionalization of photography by the French colonial authority during the Vietnamese colonial period, Kien traveled to Vietnam to comb through research archives. Through the support of his colleagues across the School of Humanities and his faculty mentor, Professor Lucas Hilderbrand, Kien has reached the pinnacle of scholarship, with the goal of making higher education a more equitable space for the next generation.
We had a chance to catch up with Kien and ask him all about his time at FMS, from his research to the advice he has for future Ph.D. students.
Describe your area of research. What sparked your interest in your chosen academic research area? What was the most rewarding aspect of your research experience?
My dissertation examines the institutionalization of photography by the French colonial authority during the Vietnamese colonial period (1887-1954). I have always been fond of photography. When I was in undergrad, I took an analog photography class and I was fascinated by the process, from learning about composition to practicing mixing chemicals for developing negatives. It always surprises me how decades ago this was the standard process of image-making. My dissertation thus traces how even though photography was imagined as a medium of control, it is also a site of cultural negotiation. It’s fascinating to find out how the manual labor was performed by a large and unnamed Vietnamese staff during this period. On top of this, meeting new people when I travel to do research was also a rewarding experience. At the archive, I met other graduate students from all over the world and learning about their exciting research also motivated me to work on mine.
What are some of the major challenges you have faced during the process and what steps did you take to overcome them?
During the research process, there were many unforeseeable obstacles. However, my advisor, Dr. Lucas Hilderbrand, has been very supportive. To begin with, I have never done archival research before and the materials for my research are in Vietnam, so Dr. Hilderbrand helped me find funding so I can travel back to my hometown to do research there. Besides my unfamiliarity with archival research, I also faced several health issues during the research process. I could not have gone through this period of difficulty without a supportive network of friends, colleagues, and mentors.
What is the best piece of advice you have been given by a professor or student while at UCI?
Fear is something that rules our actions even when we’re not aware of it. I think this is something very common among graduate students because sometimes we do not want to get disappointed by the answers we get, so we avoid talking about them. The best advice I ever got was from Natalie Barman, a friend of mine in the English department here, who told me that I should not shy away from difficult conversations, both in research and organizing. We cannot will our ideals into existence and it takes courage to see the world as it is and make a plan to change them for the better.
What additional opportunities or experiences did you take advantage of while a graduate student?
To organize with my coworkers as a union has been an unforgettable experience. As an international student, it always feels like you have to work twice as hard to go half as far. But with a collective effort, it is not as stressful. With my coworkers, we have effectively secured two collective bargaining agreements that fundamentally changed our graduate school experience for the better. The last contract secured the best language about protections for international workers and I’m really proud to be one of the few international students on the Bargaining Team to fight for this new set of protections.
What does it mean for you to have earned the Ph.D. in FMS?
For me, the Ph.D. in FMS opens the door to many wonderful opportunities, both in higher education and elsewhere and I am glad that the skills I learned during this process are so invaluable. However, at a more personal level, the Ph.D. in FMS also means more to me than just a professional degree. I have learned so much more than just my research. I have met so many people who widened my perspective of the world and I am so grateful for that.
What are your plans for the future?
I am excited to continue organizing in higher education to make it a more equitable place for everyone. A lot of us have many exciting organizing programs and we’re looking forward to working with our colleagues at the UC system to materialize them.