Zachary Tayler
Ph.D. Candidate in History · Ohio University
zachtayler@gmail.com
Education
- 2027 (exp.)Ph.D., History, Ohio University. Dissertation: “The Lost Peace: Normalization of Diplomatic Relations Between the United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 1975–1995.”
- 2021M.A., History, Southern New Hampshire University. Thesis: “Refugees and Human Rights: Patricia M. Derian’s Involvement in the Indochinese Refugee Crisis.”
- 2018B.S., History and Secondary Education, Shippensburg University.
Academic Employment
- 2018–2022Seventh Grade Modern World History Teacher, Stevensville Middle School, Stevensville, Maryland.
Publications
- 2026Peer-reviewed article: “The Path Forward: Key Developments in Normalization between the United States and Socialist Republic of Vietnam from 1986 to 1988”, International Journal of Asian Studies (2026): 1–15.
- 2026 · Sept. 25Media publication: “What U.S.-Vietnam reconciliation can teach us about Afghanistan”, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Made by History.
- 2026 · JulyBook review: Philip Taubman and William Taubman, McNamara at War: A New History, Journal of Military History 90, no. 3: 791–793.
- 2025 · springPeer-reviewed article: “Humanitarian Legacy: Patricia M. Derian’s Involvement in the Indochinese Refugee Crisis”, Pacific Historical Review 94, no. 2: 168–197.
- 2025 · May 12Media publication: “50 năm kết thúc chiến tranh: Nhìn lại quan hệ Việt-Mỹ thời hậu chiến” [“50 years after the end of the war: Looking back at postwar Vietnam–U.S. relations”], BBC News Tiếng Việt.
- 2022 · Oct. 5Book review: Nathaniel L. Moir, Number One Realist: Bernard Fall and Vietnamese Revolutionary Warfare, H-War.
Fellowships
- 2026–2027Baker Peace Studies Fellowship, Ohio University.
- 2026Clements Center Summer Seminar in Statecraft and History.
- 2026Summer Seminar in Strategic Cultures, SHAFR and Mershon Center.
- 2026Summer Seminar in Military History, Society for Military History and Virginia Military Institute.
- 2025–2026Cold War Archives Research Institute Fellowship, Oxford University, Blinken OSA Archive, and Corvinus University.
- 2025–2026Contemporary History Institute Fellow, Ohio University.
- 2022–2023Contemporary History Institute Fellow, Ohio University.
Selected Awards & Research Grants
- 2026Research Grant, Contemporary History Institute, Ohio University.
- 2026Samuel Flagg Bemis Dissertation Grant, SHAFR.
- 2025Baker Peace Studies Grant, Ohio University.
- 2025Vietnamese Language Tuition Award, SEALC–GETSEA Joint Committee.
- 2025Michael J. Hogan Foreign Language Fellowship, SHAFR.
- 2024Peter and Edith O’Donnell Endowment Grant, Scowcroft Institute, Texas A&M University.
- 2023Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation Research Travel Grant.
- 2023Tuition Scholarship for Vietnamese Language Study, SEALC.
Selected Presentations & Panels
- 2027 · scheduled“The Road Map to Where? U.S. Policy to Normalize Diplomatic Relations with Vietnam,” AHA Annual Conference; organizer, “Vietnam at Home and Abroad” panel.
- 2026“Beyond Bipolarity: Vietnam’s Transition in the Post-Cold War Era,” CWAR Institute Colloquium, Oxford.
- 2026“The Roadmap Not Taken: Why Normalization with Vietnam Stalled before 1995,” SHAFR Annual Conference.
- 2025“The Path Forward: The United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 1986–1988,” University of California, Berkeley.
- 2025“Old Adversaries, New Opportunities: U.S.–Vietnamese Relations, 1975–1978,” SHAFR Annual Conference.
- 2024“Humanitarian Legacy: Patricia M. Derian’s Involvement in the Indochinese Refugee Crisis,” SHAFR Annual Conference.
Teaching Experience
- 2023–2025Teaching Assistant, Ohio University: Western Civilization from 1500; Introduction to U.S. History, 1865–Present; Introduction to World History Before 1750.
- 2023–2024History Tutor, Tutor.com / The Princeton Review.
- 2018–2022Seventh Grade Modern World History Teacher, Stevensville Middle School.
Research Experience
- 2026Blinken Open Society Archives, Budapest, Hungary.
- 2026National Archives Center III, Hanoi, Vietnam.
- 2026National Library of Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam.
- 2025Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas.
- 2025William J. Clinton Presidential Library, Little Rock, Arkansas.
- 2025George H. W. Bush Presidential Library, College Station, Texas.
- 2024Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, California.
- 2024Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
- 2023National Archives and Records Administration II, College Park, Maryland.
- 2023Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, Atlanta, Georgia.
- 2021Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Maryland.
- 2021Pratt Library, Baltimore, Maryland.
Professional Service
- 2026Assistant Conference Coordinator, SHAFR Conference; Graduate Assistant, Central Regional Humanities Center Conference.
- 2025–presentFellow, Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training.
- 2024–presentTeaching Committee and Graduate Student Committee, SHAFR.
- 2023Social Studies Curriculum Writing, Queen Anne’s County Public Schools.
Languages
- EnglishNative
- VietnameseAdvanced
Professional Organizations
- Society for History in the Federal Government; Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations; American Historical Association; Society for Military History; Phi Alpha Theta.