His research interests include the cultural, social, and political history of modern Vietnam and the history of 20th century Vietnamese literature. His works include The Colonial Bastille: A History of Imprisonment in Vietnam, 1862-1940 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001) and a translation (with Nguyen Nguyet Cam) of the colonial-era novel, Dumb Luck (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2002). He is currently writing a book on Vu Trong Phung and the emergence of modernism in Vietnam. Professor Zinoman is also one of the co-founders and the former Editor-in-Chief of theJournal of Vietnamese Studies.