Online-Lecture: Keo Duong – “Like a Python Wraps Its Prey: Competing Oral Histories about Vietnam among Cambodian Political Actors"

17 November 2023, 2:00 pm, by AAI Webmaster

Photo: Keo Duong, cropped

We kindly invite you to this online-lecture on Friday, 17.11.2023, at 2:00–4:00 p.m. (CEST/MESZ).

Topic: "Like a Python Wraps Its Prey: Competing Oral Histories about Vietnam among Cambodian Political Actors"

Lecturer: Keo Duong
Affiliation: Bundeswehr University Munich, Munich

Date/Time: 17.11.2023 (Friday), 2:00–4:00 p.m. (CEST/MESZ).
Language: This online-lecture will be held in English.

Zoom Link: https://uni-hamburg.zoom.us/j/64563521222?
pwd=OEdSbENCOUV2Ynl5ZUdnNG5mM1pwQT09

Zoom Meeting-ID: 645 6352 1222
Zoom Passcode: hgtlecture

About the lecture:

Vietnam, to the south and east of modern Cambodia, has had a continuous presence in Cambodian history and has always played a significant role in shaping Cambodian politics. As a result, memories of Vietnam in Cambodia are subject to contestation among political actors, contributing to broader memory politics.

The main objective of this lecture is to analyze competing oral history narratives related to Vietnam and told in Cambodia by current Cambodian political actors. Based on empirical data gathered from interviews with 51 actors, it is seen how the narratives of these actors are influenced by their political affiliation and are mediated by geographical spaces and past personal experiences.

Memory politics in Cambodia about Vietnam are influenced by a macro-political context that is embedded in, but also mediated by individual factors at the micro level. The micro level context of geographical spaces and the individual experiences also determine which memories are remembered and which are deemed appropriate in particular spaces and in the context of particular experiences. Selectivity and silence play a role in resolving conflicts between macro-political narratives and micro-individual contexts.

Lecturer:

Keo Duong is currently a PhD candidate at Bundeswehr University Munich in Germany, with the support of the Gerda Henkel Foundation. In Cambodia, he works as a history lecturer at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. His Bachelor Degree is in History and Master Degree in Southeast Asian Studies.

His areas of interest include developing educational resources, conducting research on Cambodia's violent history and post-conflict period, studying oral history and memory politics, and teaching students about modern Cambodian history.

His PhD research is on "Competing Oral Historical Narratives about the Vietnamese in Cambodia from the Pre-colonial Era to the Present Day."

We would like to thank the Hamburg Society for Thai Studies for the cooperation. 

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