Dr. Miriam Stark
Department of Anthropology
University of Hawaii

Thursday, February 17, 2005
4:30 pm
303-305 International Center

Understanding the development of state formation in Southeast Asia - often in a multiethnic context - requires a historical perspective. Cambodia provides an excellent case study in state development, nationalism and the creation of ethnicity today, because the roots of these dynamic relationships extend back more than two millennia. Since 1996, research through the Lower Mekong Archaeological Project has concentrated on the site of Angkor Borei (southern Cambodia), in Cambodia's Mekong delta. Cambodians and foreign researchers consider Angkor Borei as the cradle of Khmer civilization and one of Cambodia's earliest political centers. It is at Angkor Borei that the earliest dated Khmer inscriptions were recovered, and it is in this region where the earliest Khmer art style (Phnom Da) emerged. Angkor Borei thus represents an integral part of the Khmer national identity, and research on its origins and development has both scholarly and political significance. This lecture examines relationships between politics, nationalism, and studies of the Cambodian past.

Michigan State University Co-sponsors:
Department of Anthropology, Asian Studies Center, College of Social Science