Publications Books Phnom Penh Then and Now
The evolution of Phnom Penh as the capital city of Cambodia through the colonial period, the Independence, the civil war and the decades of reconstruction.Books Picture Postcards of Cambodia, 1900-1950
A compendium reflecting the some 10, 000 postcards issued across French Indochina in the first half of the 20th century, particularly those about Cambodia.Themes Colonialism
Books How to Behave: Buddhism and Modernity in Colonial Cambodia, 1860–1930
Defining the "religious ethos of a time" when colonial realities fostered "the hope for a righteous dhammik savior-ruler."Books La Geste française en Indochine [The French Epic in Indochina]
A monumental compendium of texts - often never published before - related to the French forays in mainland Southeast Asia, 17th-20th centuries.Publications A Siamese Prince Journeys to Angkor: Encounters with a Shared Heritage
A study on 1925 Prince Damrong's Nirat Nakhon Wat,Publications និរាសនគរវត្ត Niras Nokor Wat - 1934 Edition
One of the first literary works - and the most famous one - linking Cambodian tradition to modernity: conventional ពាក្យកាព្យ (pikhap) form, modern message.Publications និរាសនគរវត្ត A Journey to Angkor - English Translation [Excerpts]
An attempt in translating into English one of the poems that marked the birth of Cambodian modern literature.Publications Avec les danseuses royales du Cambodge [With the Royal Dancers of Cambodia]
A rare insight in the life and art of the Cambodian Royal Ballet dancers at the end of the 1920s, a critical period for the court dance form in the Kingdom.Photos Cutting of the Hair Ceremony, Royal Palace, May 1901: Photographic Documents
A rare "photo feature" of a family ceremony inside Phnom Penh Royal Palace in 1901.Books นิราศนครวัด Nirat Nakhon Wat [Journey to Angkor Wat]
A quite ambivalent account of the 1924 visit to Phnom Penh and Angkor by a Siamese dignitary: shared cultural heritage in a time of rising nationalism.Books A l'école des diplomates: La perte et le retour d'Angkor [At the School for Diplomats - The Loss and Return of Angkor]
An important document on the complex history of boundary definition between Siam [now Thailand] and Cambodia, leading to further historic exploration.Publications De Phnom Penh a Pursat [From Phnom Penh to Pursat]
An important account on Cambodia in the early years of the French Protectorate.Publications 法国在柬埔寨的殖民统治及其崩溃 French Colonial Rule in Cambodia and Its Collapse
A marxist analysis of French colonialism in Cambodia by a Chinese historian of Cambodian origin.Books East for Pleasure: The Narrative of Eight Months' Travel in Burma, Sian, the Netherlands East Indies and French Indo-China
A clever depiction of Asia in 1928 through a leisure travelogue including Angkor Wat and the ceremonies for the coronation of HM King Monivong.Books Colonial Law Making: Cambodia under the French
Or how to make the unlawful into laws: the legal pretences of French Protectorat over Cambodia.Books Les civilisés [The Civilized]
A gem of French "exotic" literature: Saigon decadence with the 1890s Cambodian uprising in the background.Books Doudart de Lagree au Cambodge et en Indo-chine (Lettres d'un precurseur) [Doudart de Lagree, Letters of a Pioneer]
One of the first publications dedicated to the saga of the Commission d'exploration du Mekong.Books Lettre: Le Cambodge
A short and telling plea for the colonial economic development of Cambodia.Books Photography in Cambodia: 1886 to the Present
Photography as social history narrative medium in the Kingdom of the lasting instant.Books Vocabulaire francais-cambodgien et cambodgien francais | French-Khmer Vocabulary
A bilingual manual of conversation which is also an interesting snapshot of the first years of the French Protectorate in Cambodia.Films Les Ruines d'Angkor | The Ruins of Angkor (1913)
One of the first (silent) documentaries on Angkor, produced for a French educational film program.Films "Romance, Crime and Political Awakening:" the Malraux Affair (1923) in the archives
Skimming the archives in France and Cambodia to enhance our views on a murky affair: the André-Clara Malraux looting in Banteay Srei, December 1923.