David Chandler, a renowned scholar of Cambodia’s modern history and emeritus professor at Monash University in Australia; Sareth Svay, a Cambodian sculptor and performing artist who lives and works Siem Reap; and Krisna Uk, executive director of the Center for Khmer Studies, based in Siem Reap; are among some 3,000 attendees expected at the Association for Asian Studies' annual conference, according to organizers.
The conference will take place March 22-25 at the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel.
It brings together scholars, professors, researchers and authors from around the world to discuss pressing issues of the countries in the region, including Cambodia. More than 400 presentations are scheduled. More than 20 films will be screened. The association is based in Ann Arbor, MI. and is regarded as the most prominent American academic non-profit to focus on Asia.
Cambodia’s upcoming national elections in July are set to be reviewed in a presentation titled “The Cambodian 2018 Election: Youth, Party Strategies, and the New Political Landscape.” The panel will look at the ruling Cambodian People’s Party influence within the country, the role of youth in politics, and how political parties are responding to new ways citizens are engaging with elections, according to organizers.
Among the films being screened is the documentary titled "The Man Who Built Cambodia." Directed by a Canadian filmmaker based in Cambodia, Christopher Rompre, the 37-minute film is a narrative documentary featuring the life and work of Vann Molyvann, the architect at the center of a renaissance in Cambodia’s Sangkum Reastr Niyum period, who passed away in September 2017.
The latest research studies about Asia are to be presented, according to organizers, and issues covered—that are relevant to Cambodia—include the politics of fear, technopolitics, cultural politics of economic change and human rights and Buddhism in Southeast Asia.
