I will research the representation of traditional culture on Vietnamese television by looking at the institutional, ethnographic, and performative mechanisms for the preservation and dissemination of folk culture in Vietnam. I will investigate what happens to folk culture when it is televised and what role television plays in the formation of structures of representation. My project will focus on three domains of inquiry: I) the formation of ethnographic knowledge in Vietnam; 2) cultural policy and its implementation with regards to television; 3) mass mediation of performance with a focus on quan ho folksong and cheo popular theater.