Trường Đại học Khoa học Xã hội và Nhân văn - ĐHQGHN

1. Summary 

Name: Jennifer Su

Date of birth: June 10^th in 1994

Place of birth: London, Orntario, Canada

2. Education

- 2023 – Present: Doctor of Philosophy, Anthropology                 

University of Toronto

Thesis: “Wasted Rites: Ritual Consumption and Rational Destruction in Hanoi’s Flower Trade”

Advisors: Dr. Jack Sidnell and Dr. Zoë Wool

- 2022: Master of Arts, Anthropology                            

University of Toronto

Major Research Paper: “From Dead Land to Golden Land: Dioxin Remediation in Vietnam as Post-War Reconciliation.”

Advisors: Dr. Jack Sidnell and Dr. Zoë Wool

- 2019: Honours Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology Specialist (Society, Culture, and Language) 

University of Toronto

3. Language Skills

• English: Native proficiency

• Vietnamese: Advanced proficiency; fluent heritage speaker of Northern dialect; completed

120 hours of individualized language study in Southern dialect at Vietnamese Language

Studies, Ho Chi Minh City

• French: Advanced proficiency (reading and writing), Intermediate proficiency (speaking)

4. Research Experience

- 2023 – 2024: Toxicity, Waste, and Infrastructure Group (U of T Mississauga) 

Research Assistant to Dr. Zoë Wool

• Researched history of US riverine warfare strategy in Vietnam and Iraq using archival and

secondary sources for the “US Military Burn Pits and the Slow Violence of War” project

- June – July 2023: “Language ideology and public discourse in contemporary Vietnam” 

Research Assistant to Dr. Jack Sidnell

• Conducted 15 semi-structured interviews with college instructors and students in Hanoi on

the topics of regional identity and language

5. Professional Experience

- May 2019 – March 2020: Throughline Strategy 

Research Analyst

• Prepared interview guides, literature reviews, and reports on a variety of medical and

pharmaceutical industry topics based on desktop research and analysis of qualitative research

• Conducted telephone interviews with patients and healthcare providers following semistructured interview guides

- 2020 – 2024: Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival 

Education Program Coordinator

• Coordinated applicant interviews and selection process for annual filmmaking training

program

• Organized skills workshops and mentoring meetings for participants

• Conducted yearly program evaluation and planning in collaboration with Artistic Director and Executive Director based on analysis of feedback survey data

The Toronto Ward Museum March – September 2017

Youth Fellow

• Conducted and coded oral history interviews with past and current residents of St. John’s Ward in Toronto for the museum’s “Block by Block” program, a series of multimedia exhibitions on historic immigrant neighbourhoods in Canada

6. Teaching Experience

2024: Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto 

Teaching Assistant, ANT253: Language and Society. Instructor: Dr. Shirley Yeung

• Led weekly tutorials for 90 students

• Graded and provided feedback on midterm and final essays

- 2022: Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto 

Teaching Assistant, ANT329: Language and Power Structure. Instructor: Dr. Shirley Yeung

• Graded and provided feedback on midterm and final essays

- 2022: Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto 

Teaching Assistant, ANT355: Bodies, Technologies, and Social Justice. Instructor: Dr. Zoë Wool

• Graded weekly short answer assignments

• Assisted instructor with designing midterm quiz questions (multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer)

• Led individual meetings with students to provide feedback on final project proposals

7. Conference Presentations

Jennifer Su. “Chrysanthemums and Chronotypes: The Techno-politics and Energo-politics of Plant Life in Central Vietnam”. Panel: Infrastructure. Cornell University Southeast Asia Program Graduate Student Conference, Ithaca, NY, March 7-9, 2025.

Jennifer Su. “Paid per view”: YouTube monetization as digital piecework in Vietnam and the Vietnamese diaspora.” Visual Research Conference, AAA/CASCA Annual Meeting, Toronto, ON, November 13-14, 2023.

Jennifer Su. “From Dead Land to Golden Land: Dioxin Remediation in Vietnam as Post-War Reconciliation.” Panel: In the Wake of Calamity: Post-Disaster Reconstruction in Asia. Global Asias, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, March 31-April 1, 2023.

8. Awards and Grants

April – June 2026: Field Scholarship

École française d’Extrême-Orient

• €2550 for dissertation fieldwork in Hanoi, Vietnam

2024: Pilot Fieldwork Award

Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto

• $4000 CAD for preliminary fieldwork in Hanoi, Dalat, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Minh City

2024: Study Elsewhere of Less Commonly Taught Languages For Research Purposes Award 

School of Graduate Studies, University of Toronto

• $2700 CAD for Vietnamese language training in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

2024: Centre for Urban Environments Graduate Research Award 

University of Toronto

• $2000 for preliminary fieldwork in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

2023: Faculty of Arts and Science Alumni & Friends Graduate Scholarship 

School of Graduate Studies, University of Toronto

• $5000 award in recognition of academic achievement

2018: Gordon Cressy Leadership Award 

University of Toronto

• In recognition of students who have made outstanding extra-curricular contributions