Hope to see you in number at our next Human Sciences Happy Hour ! 

 

Once a month -  6pm – Baitong Restaurant

(7 st 360/ Norodom Bd, Beung Keng Kang I)

 

Contact:

Emiko Stock & Pascale Hancart Petitet

012 521 093 – 092 399 273

hshhpp@gmail.com

 

 

 

In November, Thursday 11th at 6 pm

 

 

 

Coming Home: the odyssey of upland Khmer Villagers

in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge

 

Between 1999 and 2002 the residents of the village “O’Thmaa” began returning to the land that was their home thirty years beforehand. The impacts of the Khmer Rouge regime, two civil wars and repeated forced evacuations made the return ‘home’ (in all its meanings) ambiguous and extraordinarily challenging. Many of the moral pillars of society were compromised or had vanished altogether, deep scars from the Khmer Rouge revolution and genocide remained fresh, and extreme poverty added additional hardships.  Despite these obstacles, however, changes started occurring within the village during my time there that could be seen as small steps toward returning to a sense of normalcy, security and belonging.

 

Based on participant-observation fieldwork from 2002-2003 and again in 2010, this paper examines some of the means by which moral mending has, and is, taking place. In the early part of the decade through the mediums of kinship, trust, commensality, sharing stories, and village rituals villagers found ways of softening the past and building a sense of community once again. This process occurred within the milieu of new forms of modernity and the impacts of international development agencies. Now, seven years later, significant changes have occurred including the advent of ECCC Khmer Rouge Tribunal and a rise in ecotourism to the area. What are the impacts of the processes on social healing and village identity? How might the tribunal in particular augment a sense of security and belonging? Using ethnographic evidence this paper explores these changes through the themes of moral order, memory, and social change.

 

Eve Zucker, PhD

CAORC Senior Research Fellow, Center for Khmer Studies

Visiting Scholar, Dept of Anthropology, University of California, San Diego

      

 

 

• AND AFTERWARDS ! 

 

 

 

IN DECEMBER ...

 

 

 

 

IN JANUARY 2011

 

Wednesday 12th, at 6 pm

 

"Animism in Cambodia: Bioregionalism in Practice

 

The indigenous or “highlander” people of Northeast Cambodia have traditionally been animistic ecosystem-based cultures whose way of life is a perfect manifestation of what is called “bioregionalism” in environmental studies. Extensive knowledge of local ecology, ability (and strong desire) to live autonomously and sustainably, and a keen awareness of “spirit places” –these are some of the defining features of bioregionalism and the Brao, Tampuan, Bunong and other highlander groups of Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri provinces have copious amounts of all three. During one month of homestays, interviews and treks to “sacred” forests, mountains, and lakes with different indigenous guides and families a picture emerged that will be of interest to bioregionalism and environmental studies scholars. In an ecological milieu haunted by malevolent spirits, the highlander people of Northeast Cambodia have lived in relative symbiosis with nature, that is, until the arrival of large numbers of economic migrants, agricultural plantations and foreign companies looking to cash in on untapped resources. These outsiders, often with the collusion of government officials, are threatening to extinguish the unique animist cultures that have thrived (despite repeated disruptions and turmoil) for centuries. This paper seeks to examine these issues from a bioregional perspective, emphasizing that the highlander cultures of this region are a great source of knowledge for living dynamic and sustainable lives in one’s own eco-region.

 

 

Gregory McCann

PhD student

Tamkang University in Taipei, Taiwan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lonely research doesn't sound that much fun after a while ?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Want to express yourself ? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Need to share ? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking for guinea-pigs to test an upcoming article / symposium presentation ? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Send us an email with a short abstract of your future presentation and a few lines about yourself and ... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we'll discuss dates !

 

 

 

hshhpp@gmail.com