Nguyễn T. Thuỳ-Trang

Research interests: colonialism and decolonization, psychoanalysis, social critical theory, radical psychotherapeutic movements, postcolonial visual culture, and world cinema

Nguyễn’s dissertation project examines radical psychiatric/psychotherapeutic praxis in Vietnam and Algeria post-WWII, within a broader theoretical framing of Afro-Asia intimacies, postcolonial studies, decoloniality, and critical social theory from the Global South. Against the landscape of liberation wars and decolonization across the two continents, her research brings forth a radical reconfiguration of the psychiatric asylum space by studying the encounter between the seemingly distinct identities of psychiatric patient and political dissident. Engaging with archival materials and literary analysis of works produced by the residents of psychiatric asylums, the project draws connections among seemingly unrelated temporal, spatial, and social conditions to problematize the contemporary construction of global mental health. Besides research, Nguyễn is also a practicing psychotherapist, specializing in traumatic stress in children and adolescents. She grew up in Vietnam.

Recent publications

Nguyễn, T. T. T. The little refusal: Gestures and how the unruly body goes on strike. [Manuscript in preparation]

Nguyễn, T. T. T. Afro-Asia Intimacies: A Speculative Storytelling Aesthetic in Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn’s Moving Image of the Postcolonial Space [Manuscript in preparation]

Nguyễn, T. T. T., Denejkina, A., Summersett Williams, F., Henshaw, L. A., & Shadowen, N. (2023). Neighborhood Factors and School Engagement in Children of Parents or Guardians Who Have Experienced Incarceration. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 32(12), 3800–3815. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-023-02688-9

Urban, T. H., Nguyễn, T. T. T., Morford, A. E., Spinelli, T., Martinovich, Z., Schewe, P. A., & Risser, H. J. (2020). Utilization of evidence-based treatment models at community-based mental health settings for young children exposed to violence. Children and Youth Services Review, 105233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105233

Awards

2-year Advanced Placement Fellowship, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2022

1-year The Kemper Knapp Fellowship, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2022

Outstanding Master Thesis Presentation Award, Northwestern University, 2019

Harris Scholar, Northwestern University, 2016 – 2018

Full undergraduate scholarship from Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2008 – 2012

Education

M.A., Counseling, Child and Adolescent, Northwestern University, 2019

B.Sc., Economics and Law, Singapore Management University, 2012