Expressions of Cambodia: The Politics of Tradition, Identity and Change / Edition 1

by Leakthina Chau-Pech Ollier, Tim Winter

Overview

Taking a theoretical and multidisciplinary perspective, the essays in this collection provide compelling insight into contemporary Cambodian culture at home and abroad. The book represents the first sustained exploration of the relationship between cultural productions and practices, the changing urban landscape and the construction of identity and nation building twenty-five years after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime. As such, the team of international contributors address the politics of development and conservation, tradition and modernity within the global economy, and transmigratory movements of the twenty-first century.

Expressions of Cambodia presents a new dimension to the Cambodian studies by engaging the country in current debates about globalization and the commodification of culture, post-colonial politics and identity constructions. Timely and much-needed, this volume brings Cambodia back into dialogue with its neighbours, and in so doing, valuably contributes to the growing field of Southeast Asian cultural studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415385541
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/06/2006
Series:	Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series , #12
Pages:	242
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Leakthina Chau-Pech Ollier is a writer and lives in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Tim Winter worked on this book as part of his Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Asia Research Institute, Singapore. Tim is now a Professor in the School of Social Sciences at The University of Western Australia.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Politics of Tradition, Identity and Change Part 1: Re-Scripting Angkor Subscripts: Reading Cambodian Pasts, Presents and Futures through Graffiti. When Ancient "Glory" Meets Modern "Tragedy": Angkor and the Khmer Rouge in Contemporary Tourism. The Fascination for Angkor Wat and the Ideology of the Visible Part 2: Identity and the Liminal Space Sitting between Two Chairs: Cambodia’s Dual Citizenship Debate. Refractions of Home: Exile, Memory and Diasporic Longing. Rapping (in) the Homeland: Of Gangs, Angka, and the Cambodian Diasporic Identity Part 3: Performing Tradition Weaving into Cambodia: Negotiated Ethnicity in the (Post)Colonial Silk Industry. A Burned-Out Theatre: The State of Cambodia's Performing Arts. The (Re)emergence of Cambodian Women Writers at Home and Abroad Part 4: Engaging Modernity Entrepreneurialism and Charisma: Two Modes of Doing Business in Post-Pol Pot Cambodian Buddhism. Touring Memories of the Khmer Rouge (Anlong Veng). Khmer Women and Global Factories

Editorial Reviews

'The book aims to be of interest to those working in the fields of Asian studies, tourism, diaspora, and postcolonial and cultural studies.' - Oxfam's Development Resources Review

From the Publisher