Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Kultur-, Sozial- und Bildungswissenschaftliche Fakultät - Institut für Asien- und Afrikawissenschaften

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

By Keo Duong

Wednesday, November 8, 2023, 12:15 pm

zoom: https://hu-berlin.zoom-x.de/j/7092877453?pwd=Y2NDYW1SY1N6QmNzNzYwMWpuSmMvZz09

Abstract

Vietnam, the prominent neighboring country to the south and east of Cambodia, has had a continuous presence in Cambodian history and has played a significant role in shaping Cambodian politics. Memories of Vietnam in Cambodia are subject to contestation among political actors, contributing to broader memory politics. The main objective of this research is to identify and analyze the construction of competing oral history narratives regarding Vietnam in Cambodia from current Cambodian political actors. Based on empirical data gathered from oral history interviews with 51 political actors, the research reveals how the narratives of these actors are influenced by their political affiliation and mediated by geographical spaces and past personal experiences. I argue that memory politics in Cambodia about Vietnam is influenced by the macro-political context it is embedded in, but is also mediated by individual factors at the micro level as well. The macro-political context provides a larger frame of narratives for political actors who narrate in politically differentiated ways. However, the micro level context of geographical spaces and the individual experiences also determine which memories are remembered and which are deemed appropriate in their spaces and in accordance with their experiences. Selectivity and silence play a role in resolving conflicts between macro political narratives and micro individual contexts.

Bio: Keo Duong

Institution: Bundeswehr University Munich, Munich, Germany

Email: duong.keo@unibw.de

Keo Duong is currently a Ph.D​​ 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. He holds a Bachelor's degree in History and a Master's degree in Southeast Asian Studies. His areas of interest include developing educational resources, conducting research on Cambodia's violent history and post-conflict period, 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."