Modern Literature Of Cambodia

Modern Literature of Cambodia captures the poignant experience of Cambodians in the homeland and diaspora through fiction, poetry, essay and drama. Current themes of modern Cambodian literature include the quest for national and community 'development, ' social injustice, and feminist writing that critiques the diminished role of women and the ongoing critique of arranged marriage in Cambodia. It is the first collection of modern Cambodian literature in English

Offering a comprehensive overview of the current situation in the country, The Handbook of Contemporary Cambodia provides a broad coverage of social, cultural, political and economic development within both rural and urban contexts during the last decade. A detailed introduction places Cambodia within its global and regional frame, and the handbook is then divided into five thematic sections: Political and Economic Tensions Rural Developments Urban Conflicts Social Processes Cultural Currents The first section looks at the major political implications and tensions that have occurred in Cambodia, as well as the changing parameters of its economic profile. The handbook then highlights the major developments that are unfolding within the rural sphere, before moving on to consider how cities in Cambodia, and particularly Phnom Penh, have become primary sites of change. The fourth section covers the major processes that have shaped social understandings of the country, and how Cambodians have come to understand themselves in relation to each other and the outside world. Section five analyses the cultural dimensions of Cambodia’s current experience, and how identity comes into contact with and responds to other cultural themes. Bringing together a team of leading scholars on Cambodia, the handbook presents an understanding of how sociocultural and political economic processes in the country have evolved. It is a cutting edge and interdisciplinary resource for scholars and students of Southeast Asian Studies, as well as policymakers, sociologists and political scientists with an interest in contemporary Cambodia.

Cambodian writers represented in this collection of short fiction depict the social, political and economic challenges of life in contemporary Cambodia. The various tales provide humanistic insight into Cambodia's world of rapid modernization since the 1990s as the country recovers from decades of political and economic instability. Among the stories. "Just a Human Being," plays on memories of the Khmer Rouge embedded in contemporary bureaucratic practices of the early 1990s. Other stories, like "Lord of the Land" and "The Boat," are allegories about the lingering traces of the Khmer Rouge era on contemporary social relationships and politics. They explore a theme found in many of these stories: the need to overcome karma and reclaim compassion in a desperate world of poverty and sheer survival. Many of the short stories are ethnographic and provide a snapshot into life in contemporary Cambodia.

Since the civil war of the 1970s, Cambodia has suffered devastating upheavals that killed a million ' people and exiled hundreds of thousands. This book is the first to examine Cambodian culture after the ravages of the Pol Pot regime-and to bear witness to the transformation and persistence of tradition among contemporary Cambodians at home and abroad. Bringing together essays by Khmer and Western scholars in anthropology, linguistics, literature, and ethnomusicology, the volume documents the survival of a culture that many had believed lost. Individual chapters explore such topics as Buddhist belief and practice among refugees in the United States, distinctive features of modern Cambodian novels, the lessons taught by Khmer proverbs, some uses of metaphor by the Khmer Rouge regime, the state of traditional music, the recent revival of a form of traditional theater, the concept of pain in Khmer culture, changing conceptions of gender, and refugees' interpretation of American television. Together the essays map a contemporary Cambodian culture, which, for over two hundred thousand Khmers, is now firmly entwined in the social fabric of the urban West.

With nearly 400 pages, Out of the Shadows of Angkor: Cambodian Poetry, Prose, and Performance through the Ages is an outstanding collection of classic and contemporary writing. The volume emerges from the thirty-year effort of a community to gather Cambodian literary and cultural works. In doing so, they not only translated rare works into English for the first time, but also helped to rescue writing lost during the Khmer Rouge regime (1975–1979). Readers will find the following and more: –Cambodian writing ranging over fourteen hundred years, from the seventh century to the present; –translations of classical texts;selections of modern Cambodian poetry, prose, and folk theater; –contemporary writings by Cambodian refugees and children of the diaspora living in countries from Australia to the United States, Canada, and Europe; –visual art, including oil paintings by Theanly Chov and excerpts from a graphic novel by Tian Veasna. “The work included in Out of the Shadows of Angkor is just a part of the vast, diverse repertoire of Cambodian literature created by those born in Cambodia, in the camps, and in new lands. Soth Polin once told me, ‘What we have lost is indescribable . . . what we have lost is not reconstructable. An epoch is finished. So when we have literature again, it will be a new literature.’ We hope this book brings out of the shadows some of the lost, hidden, and emerging gems of Cambodian literature—past, present, and moving into the future.” —From the overview essay by guest editor Sharon May

Nearly two million people died in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 as a result of the Khmer Rouge’s genocidal regime. Cambodians who were educated, teachers, artists, and authors were among the first to be killed. One generation later, literature is re-emerging from the ashes. 22 photographs

This strikingly original study of Cambodian nationalism brings to life eight turbulent decades of cultural change and sheds new light on the colonial ancestry of Pol Pot’s murderous dystopia. Penny Edwards recreates the intellectual milieux and cultural traffic linking Europe and empire, interweaving analysis of key movements and ideas in the French Protectorate of Cambodge with contemporary developments in the Métropole. From the naturalist Henri Mouhot’s expedition to Angkor in 1860 to the nationalist Son Ngoc Thanh’s short-lived premiership in 1945, this history of ideas tracks the talented Cambodian and French men and women who shaped the contours of the modern Khmer nation. Their visions and ambitions played out within a shifting landscape of Angkorean temples, Parisian museums, Khmer printing presses, world’s fairs, Buddhist monasteries, and Cambodian youth hostels. This is cross-cultural history at its best. With its fresh take on the dynamics of colonialism and nationalism, Cambodge: The Cultivation of a Nation will become essential reading for scholars of history, politics, and society in Southeast Asia. Edwards’ nuanced analysis of Buddhism and her consideration of Angkor’s emergence as a national monument will be of particular interest to students of Asian and European religion, museology, heritage studies, and art history. As a highly readable guide to Cambodia’s recent past, it will also appeal to specialists in modern French history, cultural studies, and colonialism, as well as readers with a general interest in Cambodia.

Since the dawn of recorded history, Khmer royalty nurtured a sacred dance style unique to their Asian kingdom, yet instantly recognizable throughout the world. In 1913, George Groslier published the first Western study of this ancient art. For nearly a century Danseuses cambodgiennes anciennes et modernes has stood as the first significant historic account of Cambodia s royal dance tradition. This edition presents the first English translation of his pivotal work, beautifully typeset with all the author s original drawings. It also includes the first personal account of Groslier's life by biographer Kent Davis, family photos, extensive background materials, a bibliography and index. The first French child born in Cambodia in 1887, Groslier went to Paris to train as a painter before returning to Asia to become an archaeologist, historian, educator and novelist. A lifelong champion of Khmer arts, Groslier founded the National Museum of Cambodia and the School of Fine Arts. After a life of adventure, contemplation, and instruction traveling the Mekong, mapping the ruins of Cambodia's lost temples, sparking a revival of traditional Cambodian arts, and helping apprehend a young art thief named Andre Malraux Groslier was tortured and killed by the Japanese army in 1945. This book was the first in a series of works that he wrote about his beloved birthplace. Time would tame his prose but never his enthusiasm, which here leaps off the page. REVIEWS It is my pleasure to introduce new generations of readers to this classic account of Cambodia s royal dance tradition. H.R.H. Princess Norodom Buppha Devi You returned here as if marked by destiny, the most restless artist we had ever encountered to devote himself to Cambodian dancers and their secrets. Charles Gravelle - 1913 The first commentary in any language Asian or European on one of the world s most refined performing arts.. Dr. Paul Cravath - Earth in Flower

Reviewing a shadowy period in Cambodia's recent history ... as the legacy of the Khmer Rouge regime continues its influence today.

A CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title, Modern Short Fiction of Southeast Asia surveys the historical and cultural significance of modern short fiction in nine Southeast Asian nations--Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar/Burma, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Written in an accessible style, without jargon, this book will be of great interest to students of modern literature and general readers interested in Southeast Asia as well as scholars of East and South Asia who wish to compare the literary developments of those areas to Southeast Asia. The interdisciplinary approach suggests that literature has made a significant contribution to the social and political history of the region, and the authors address topics of significance to scholars of numerous disciplines including anthropology, cultural studies, history, literature, political science, and sociology.