Contesting visions of the Lao past
Subtitle: Laos historiography at the crossroads
By: edited by Christopher E. Goscha and Søren Ivarsson.
Contributors: Goscha, Christopher E.; Ivarsson, Søren.; Nordic Institute of Asian Studies.
Series: NIAS studies in Asian topics -- 32
Publisher: NIAS Press
Published: 2003
Place of publication: Copenhagen
Language: eng
Number of pages: 326
Subjects: Laos -- Historiography.
Description: Laos's emergence as a modern nation-state in the 20th century owed much to a complex interplay of internal and external forces. Arguing that the historiography of Laos needs to be understood in this wider context, this study considers how the Lao have written their own nationalist and revolutionary history "on the inside," while others-the French, Vietnamese, and Thais-have attempted to write the history of Laos "from the outside" for their own political ends. As nationalist historiography, like the formation of the nation-state, does not emerge within a nationalist vacuum but rather is created and contested from inside and out, this incisive volume's approach has applications and implications far beyond Laos.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.