CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY IN THE COUNTRIES OF “INDOCHINA” TODAY
Asia 399 – Asian Social & Culture
Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00 – 11:20pm (Spring 2016, University of Oregon)
Chapman 307
Instructor: Hong Bui, PhD Candidate, Cornell University
Office Hours: Thursday 12:30 – 3:30 – PLC 218
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Course Description
This course presents an overview of the modern societies of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. We will examine
processes of social development and globalization and their broader impact on “Indochina” societies from
historical, economic, demographic, sociological, and anthropological perspectives. The course provides
students with a dynamic understanding of the contemporary ‘Indochina’ setting by examining issues of health
epidemics, emergent developing markets, conflicting gender roles, tourism, pop culture, beliefs and religions,
ethnic warfare, and civil society.
Rather than simply introduce to you WHAT these societies are, the course will equip and encourage you to
move past that boundary by raising HOW and WHY queries on core issues, through paying close attention to
the social and historical contexts of these societies.
Learning Objectives
This course aims to:
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Challenge and equip you with knowledge of the different Indochina countries, including their cultural,
religious, political, social traditions and transformations.
Be aware of how globalization, modernization, and education have affected their culture and societies and
how the peoples of this region are becoming more interdependent.
Become more sophisticated observers, readers, and writers through examining and analyzing core social
issues that define and constrain the area today.
Prompt your interest for further studies and activities. After the course, you should be able to think critically
about social issues and risks that developing countries such as Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia are facing as
their societies shift inevitably toward a globalized world.
Course Requirements and Assessment:
Course grades will be based on participation and written work, broken down as follows:
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Class attendance, participate in class discussions and group discussions (35%): Each of you will be
responsible to prepare questions (2 classes – at least 3 questions per class), based on weekly assigned
readings for in-class group discussion and actively participate in class discussion to dissect those raised
questions. You must complete all assigned readings before each class. Your prepared questions should be
sent through email to the instructor by 8p.m the night before class meeting, no exceptions. There will be a
signed up sheet in which you will sign up to present your questions to the class.
Concise Paper/Project (35% for written paper). Closer to the final week of the course, you are required to
turn in a concise paper of (6 to 7 double-spaced, typewritten pages) that describes/address a specific
development issue of your choice in Laos or Cambodia or Vietnam or the region as a whole. Concise paper
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is due on May 17th.
Students need to hand in a brief 1 page description of their concise paper on May 10th. You are
expected to use MLA format and provide complete citations. Your paper should be an extended treatment
of a topic raised during class meetings and will be assessed based on originality of ideas, coherence of
arguments, appropriate use of sources and quality of writing. Your paper must briefly:
1. Describe the human environment/social geography of the selected location – Where? What?
2. Analyze the root cause(s) of the problem you identify – How come? Why should we care?
3. Propose credible, practical solutions to remedy your problem – What can be done?
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Final Examination (30%): At the end of the course, there will be an essay-based examination. You will
write two essays from a choice of five essay questions covering major themes of the course lectures and
readings. You may use your course notes and readings during the examination.
Where to get the required readings: All assigned readings will be posted on Canvas. A few of the readings
may be changed during the term. The instructor reserves the right to change some reading assignments,
especially in the second half of the course, but will give advance notice and provide access to the new
materials.
What to expect during a typical class section: Social and historical background context and concepts will
be presented in lecture. Then students will raise critical questions based on assigned readings to bring the
class to pay close attention specific topics. Students are expect to raise questions, attempt to answer
questions and participate in class discussion to make class a fruitful learning experience for all. Class
attendance is mandatory. Exceptions are only granted to those with a legitimate excuse from an academic
advisor or doctor.
A word on using electronic devices when class is in session: Turns off cellphone, no texting, no emailing
nor using social media platforms. Laptop/tablet is solely allowed for the purpose of taking note in class. Thank
you for compliance.
Lecture topics and reading assignments:
Week 1: March 29th – March 31th - Introduction, historical contexts, ethnography research
What is Indochina? Why should we care? Anthropological studies approaches.
Readings:
1. Norman G. Owen, “Part 5: coping with independence and interdependence (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos
since 1975)” in The Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia a New History. University of Hawaii Press,
2005. pg 468-496.
2. Norman G. Owen, “Part 4: Passages out of the colonial era (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos)” in The
Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia a New History. University of Hawaii Press, 2005, pg 335-349, 361370, 371-375.
3. Annuska Derks, “intro: research and resonance” in Khmer Women on the Move Exploring Work and Life in
the Urban Cambodia. University of Hawaii Press, 2008, pg 17-20.
4. Vatthana Pholsena, “An introduction” in Post-war Laos: The Politics of Culture, History and Identity.
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2006, pg 1-7.
5. Lisa B.W. Drummond and Mandy Thomas, “introduction” in Consuming Urban Culture in Contemporary
Vietnam, RoutledgeCurzon 2003, pg 1-15.
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Week 2: April 5th – April 7th State, Society and Individual – Nationalism, Identity, Cultural Change and
the post-1975 generation
Readings:
1. Vatthana Pholsena, “Chapter 3: Cultural Order and Discipline: The Politics of National Culture, in Post-war
Laos: The Politics of Culture, History and Identity, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2006,
pg 46-76.
2. Ken, MacLean, “Conflicting narratives: the transition to state socialism, in The Government of Mistrust
Illegibility and Bureaucratic Power in Socialist Vietnam, published, University of Wisconsin Press, 2013, pg
81 – 88.
3. Caroline Hughes and Kheang Un, Cambodia’s Economic Transformation: Historical and Theoretical
Frameworks, in Cambodia’s Economic Transformation, NIAS Press 2011, pg 1-26
4. Vatthana Pholsena, “Forging nationhood in post-socialist Laos” in Post-war Laos: The Politics of Culture,
History and Identity, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2006, pg 10-13.
5. Martin Gainsborough, “Chapter 5: Uncertainty as an instrument of rule”, in Vietnam Rethinking The State,
Zed Books Ltd, NY USA, 2010, pg 88-110.
Suggested readings:
Randi Jerndala, Jonathan Rigg, Making Space in Laos: constructing a national identity in a `forgotten' country,
Political Geography, Volume 17, Issue 7, September 1998, pg 809–831.
Alexander Woodside, the struggle to rethink the Vietnamese state in the era of market economics, in Timothy
Brook and Hy Van Luong, Culture and Economy: The Shaping of Capitalism in Eastern Asia, Published by
University of Michigan Press, 1999, pg 61 -78.
Ben Kiernan, “The Origins of Khmer Politics: Kampuchea between the Wars”, “Contending Colonialisms: 194049”, “Contending Nationalisms: 1949-52”, How Pol Pot Came to Power: Colonialism, Nationalism and
Communism in Cambodia: 1930-1975, 2nd ed. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004), 1-40, 41-64, 65-117
David M. Ayers, “The Traditional Setting: State, Society and Education before Independence”, Anatomy of a
Crisis: Education, Development and the State in Cambodia, 1953-1998, 9-30.
Martin Stuart-Fox, Laos in ASEAN: Dilemmas of Development and Identity, Asian Studies Review, Volum 22,
number 2, June 1998. Article first published online: 28 JUN 2008
Week 3: April 12th- April 14th Emergent Markets, Tourism, Development issues - What make Laos,
Cambodia, and Vietnam tick?
Readings:
1. Gerard Sasges, “Introduction and various stories”, in It’s a Living Work and life in Vietnam today, published
by National University of Singapore, 2014, pp 1-10, 53-57, 111-115, 137-139, 184-187, 266-273, 310-313.
2. Annuska Derks, “Intro: Sophea’s Story” in Khmer Women on the Move Exploring Work and Life in the
Urban Cambodia. University of Hawaii Press, 2008, pg 2-4.
3. Annuska Derks, “Chapter 4: Factory Work” in Khmer Women on the Move Exploring Work and Life in the
Urban Cambodia. University of Hawaii Press, 2008, pg 59-87.
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4. DFID report, “Timber market and trade between Laos and Vietnam: A commodity analysis of Vietnamese
driven timber flow – forest trends,” DFID, Jan 2010.
5. Corrupt’s officials in Laos Blamed over Illegal Timber Trade with Vietnam http://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/timber-smuggling-11262014170709.html. Reported by Ounkeo
Souksavanh for RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Ounkeo Souksavanh. Written in English by Roseanne
Gerin. 2014-11-26
Suggested readings:
Seeking Cambodia’s emerging middle class. http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weekend/seekingcambodias-emerging-middle-class. http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weekend/seeking-cambodiasemerging-middle-class
“Investors, managers, brokers, and culture workers: how the “new” Chinese are changing the meaning of
Chineseness in Cambodia,” Pal Nyiri, Crosscurrents: East Asian History and Culture Review, Number 4
(Special Issue on the Chinese in Cambodia), September 2012.
China and Vietnam square off in Laos, Southeast Asia Online, August 30th, 2008
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/JH30Ae02.html
World Bank. “Businesses of All Sorts. Business and development. Part 1: An Emerging Economy.” Vietnam
Development Report 2006. Hanoi: Vietnam, 2005, pp. 3-28.
Watch an interview with Mme Ton Nu Thi Ninh on Vietnam's foreign policy, http://www.theleaders.org/library/20.html
World Bank. “Efficiency and Competitiveness. Part 1: An Emerging Economy.” Vietnam Development Report
2006. Ha Noi: Vietnam, 2005, pp. 30-55
Week 4: April 19th – April 21th – Beliefs and Religions - Buddhism, Ancestor Worship, Caodaism,
Christianity.
Readings:
1. Ian Harris, “Chapter 8: Cambodian Buddhism after the Khmer Rouge”, in Cambodian Buddhism History
and Practice, University of Hawaii Press, 2008, pg 190-224.
2. Heonik Kwon, “transforming ghosts”, in Ghosts of War in Vietnam, Cambridge University Press 2008, pp
103-130.
3. Kendall, Lauren, Popular Religion and the Sacred Life of Material Goods in Contemporary Vietnam, Asian
Ethnology Volume 67, Number 2 • 2008, 177–199.
4. Ang Choulean. 1988. The place of Animism within Popular Buddhism in Cambodia: the Example of the
Monastery. Asian Folklore Studies 47(1):35-41
5. Laos Religion, http://asia.isp.msu.edu/wbwoa/southeast_asia/laos/religion.htm
6. ErikW. Davis, Imagined Parasites: Flows of Monies and Spirits, in Cambodia’s Economic Transformation,
NIAS Press 2011, pg 310-329.
View a short video: Buddhism in Laos: ordaining as a monk, the story of sisouphan and his brother . Vientiane
Times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLWoQ9Per2w
Suggested readings:
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Hue Tam Ho Tai and Le Hong Ly, The Revenge of the Object Villagers and Ethnographers in Ðồng Kỵ Village,
Asian Ethnology Volume 67, Number 2 • 2008, 323–343.
Julie Thi Underhill, Ghost, chapter 13 (p173-p176), in Gina Masequesmay and Sean Metzger, Embodying
Asian/American Sexualities, 2009 by Lexington Books.
Cooke, N. Early Nineteenth-Century Vietnamese Catholics and Others in the Pages of the Annales de la
Propagation de la Foi. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 35. 2004, pp. 261-285
Oscar Salemink, Enclosing the Highlands: Socialist, Capitalist and Protestant Conversions of Vietnam’s
Central Highlanders.
Week 5: April 26th – April 28th Pop Culture – Music, Films, and Arts
Readings:
1. Lisa B.W. Drummond and Mandy Thomas, “Popular television and images of urban life” in Consuming
Urban Culture in Contemporary Vietnam, RoutledgeCurzon 2003, pg155-169.
2. Amitav Gosh, Dancing in Cambodia and other essays (New Delhi, 2008).
3. We will watch a documentary called: I don’t think I’ve forgotten Cambodia Lost RocknRoll.
http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Think-Ive-Forgotten-Cambodias/dp/B00ZBEXB6U
http://www.docnyc.net/film/dont-think-ive-forgotten-cambodias-lost-rocknroll/#.VqRafSFVikq
4. We will watch a short video clip (17 mins) called: Looking for home, Nguyen Qui Duc,
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/vietnam/thestory.html
Week 6: May 3rd – May 5th – Health Epidemics and Environment Issues
Readings:
1. Van Liere, W.J. 1980. Traditional water management in the lower Mekong Basin. World Archaeology 11(3):
265-280.
2. Stott, P. 1992. Angkor: shifting the hydraulic paradigm. In The Gift of Water: Water Management,
Cosmology and the State in South East Asia, ed. J. Rigg. 47-58. London: School of Oriental and African
Studies
3. Yumio Sakurai, “Eighteenth Century Chinese Pioneers on the Water Frontier of Indochina”, in Li Tana and
Nola Cooke, ed., Water Frontier: Commerce and the Chinese in the Lower Mekong Region, 1750-1850
(Singapore: National University of Singapore Press, 2004), 35-52
4. Daniel Goodkind, Abortion in Vietnam: Measurements, Puzzles, and Concerns, Studies in Family Planning,
Vol. 25, No. 6. (Nov. - Dec., 1994), pp. 342-352.
5. Barbara S. Mensch et all, Adolescents in Vietnam: Looking beyond Reproductive Health, Studies in Family
Planning, Vol. 34, No. 4. (Dec., 2003), pp. 249-262.
Week 7: May 10th – May 12th - Gender issues, Family, Youth – Students turn in 1 page summary of
concise paper on May 10.
Readings:
1. Simon Creak, Sport as politics and history: the 25th SEA Games in Laos, ARTICLE in ANTHROPOLOGY
TODAY 27(1) · JANUARY 2011
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2. Nguyen Thi Bich Thuan and Mandy Thomas, Young Women and Emergent Postsocialist Sensibilities in
Contemporary Vietnam, Asian Studies Review, June 2004, Vol. 28, pp. 133–149.
3. Hung Cam Thai, For better or for worse, Vietnamese International Marriages in the New Global Economy
selections, Published by Rutgers University Press, 2008.
Week 8: May 17th – May 19th - Ethnic warfare, genocides, regionalism – Students turn in concise paper
both in hard copy and electronic paper on May 17th.
Readings:
1. Vatthana Pholsena, “Chapter 7: from inclusion to re-marginalization”, in Post-war Laos: The Politics of
Culture, History and Identity, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 2006, pg 180-217.
2. “Kampuchea’s Ethnic Chinese under Pol Pot, “ by Ben Kiernan, Journal of Contemporary Asia, 16:1
(1986), 18-29.
3. Craig Etcheson, “After the Peace”, After the Killing Fields: Lessons from the Cambodian Genocide
(Westport, CT: Praeger, 2005), 39-52.
4. Stephen Heder, “The Indochinese Communist Party and the Khmer Revolutionary People’s Party”,
Cambodian Communism and the Vietnamese Model, vol. 1. Imitation and Independence, 1930-1975
(Bangkok: White Lotus, 2004), “Implementing the People’s War Script”, Cambodian Communism, 13-35,
133-146
5. Nha Ca, Olgar Dor, - introduction - Mourning headband for Hue.
6. We will either watch The Killing Field or Land of Sorrow (Dat Kho).
Week 9: May 24th – May 26th – Education, Civil Society, NGOs, Poverty Reduction
Readings:
1. David J. Norman, Neoliberal Strategies of Poverty Reduction in Cambodia: the case of microfinance, in
Cambodia’s Economic Transformation, NIAS Press 2011, pg 161-181.
2. René Parenteau and Nguyen Quoc Thong, Environment urbanization: the role of civil society in urban
environmental rehabilitation: a case study (Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi, Vietnam), Environment and
Urbanization 2005; 17; 237.
3. Roger Henke, NGOs, People’s movements and Natural Resource Management, in Cambodia’s Economic
Transformation, NIAS Press 2011, pg 288-309.
4. Jonathan D, London, Chapter 1, in Education in Vietnam, historical roots, recent trends, Singapore:
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2011.
Suggested reading
Glimpse of NGOs in Cambodia: PIO http://peopleimprovement.org/
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/29/heroes.noun/ Phymean Noun
Chab Dai (Joining hands) - http://chabdai.org/ethos/
http://chabdai.org/clc fight children trafficking
Senhoa: http://senhoa.org/about/awards-recognition/, http://senhoa.org/about/#prettyPhoto
Eva Mysliwiec, “Recovery: 1979-1987”, Punishing the Poor: The International Isolation of Kampuchea (Oxford:
Oxfam, 1988), 21-50.
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Asian Development Bank 2001, “Key governance issues in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
UNDP Human Development Report 2003 “Millennium development goals: A compact among nations to end
human poverty”.
Asian Development Outlook 2006: Chapters on Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
World Bank, Cambodia: From Recovery to Sustained Development, World Bank: Washington, 31 May 1996.
Christopher E. Goscha, Contesting visions of the Laos past, 2003.
Week 10: June 2rd - Course Review. Concluding thoughts: What should you know about contemporary
societies of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Final examination.
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