The Commons Notebook

The Commons Notebook is a collection of my essays and reflections on the struggles and hopes that shape the lives of ordinary people. It includes pieces first published elsewhere as well as those written directly for this notebook. Its purpose is not only to preserve these writings but also to make them accessible, to invite reflection, and to contribute to wider conversations about how life with dignity can become not a distant dream but a reality for the commons. Such a life is not defined by struggle and injustice, but marked by celebration.

I am a writer trained in the social sciences, with a BA and MA in Psychology, an MSc in International Development, and a PhD in Citizenship and Civil Society.

Born in Vietnam and now living in Europe, I have long been drawn to how social, cultural, and political structures shape the lives and aspirations of ordinary people — and how people, in turn, agentically defy those structures in the hope of a better life and a better world. Alongside scholarship, I have also been involved in activism projects, often with a focus on people’s power.

I see my academic training and activist experience as mutually informing, reflecting on one another, challenging one another, and sustaining me, especially in difficult times. This website gathers writings from both sides of that journey. Some are analytical, some reflective, others more experimental — but all are attempts to think with, and for, the commons.

I have published under a few different pen names, the most common one being Dan Nguyen.

commonsnotebook@protonmail.com