Search Result

Srl

Item

ID: 175546

Epistemological shift from palace chronicles to scholarly Khmer historiography under French colonial rule / Thun, Theara

Thun, Theara	Journal Article
	0 Rating(s) & 0 Review(s)

Summary/Abstract

Identifying the role of colonial-sponsored institutions and written texts produced by local scholars, this article argues that, although Cambodian scholars’ intellectual orientation was not necessarily restricted to French scholarship, French colonial rule had played the key role in introducing modern historiography and creating the platforms for the epistemological transition in Cambodia which underwent different categories of knowledge adoption and various projects of translation of local individuals. Capturing the dynamic of the epistemological transition allows us to highlight a broader picture of the interplay between a long-existing body of knowledge and more contemporary scholarship under Western colonisation.

Key Words

Epistemological Shift ; Khmer Historiography ; French Colonial Rule

In Basket

Export

ID: 181032

Ethnic Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge: the genocide and race debate / Thun, Theara; Keo, Duong

Thun, Theara	Journal Article
	0 Rating(s) & 0 Review(s)

Summary/Abstract

This paper provides insights on the Communist Party of Kampuchea’s (CPK) ethnic policy through the dynamics of its relationship with ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia during the 1970s. During Cambodia’s civil war between the CPK and the Lon Nol government, the CPK regarded Vietnamese in Cambodia as supporters of its political movement. The paper demonstrates that although class categorization undermined CPK treatment of Vietnamese and other minority groups (notably Chinese and Cham) throughout the four years (1975–1979) of Democratic Kampuchea (DK), internal plots, suspicions of non-Khmer people, and a war with Vietnam led to the expulsion of the vast majority of Vietnamese in 1975. Expulsion gave way to the mass murder from mid-1977 onward of many of the remaining Vietnamese and mixed-parentage children. By demonstrating how CPK notions of class outweighed those of race, the paper argues that CPK purges against Vietnamese should be understood within the framework of CPK efforts to eliminate suspected enemies from Vietnam rather than stemming from genocidal intent.

Key Words

Race ; Genocide ; Vietnamese ; Communist Party of Kampuchea ; Cambodia-Vietnam Relations

In Basket

Export