Shit People Say About [Country Name] History – or, History in the Age of YouTube
A decade or so ago, whenever I was preparing to teach a class in a course that I had already taught a few times, I would always spend time on…
Indochinese Subaltern Cosmopolitanism
In many histories, members of the elite are usually portrayed as the people who brought change to society. In the case of Vietnam, for instance, intellectuals like Phan Bội Châu…
Banning Women in Bondage and Dragon Seed in French Indochina
I found a list of American movies that were banned in French Indochina in 1949-1951. It’s interesting to see the kinds of things that the colonial censors did not want…
Coca-Cola by the People and for the People in the Philippines
Today I came across an educational film that the Coca-Cola Company made in 1955 about Coca-Cola in the Philippines. The video is called “Pearl of the Orient.” As the video…
“Straightening Out” Southeast Asia in the 1960s
In the 1960s, modernization theory was very popular. Essentially what modernization theory argued is that all societies go through similar processes in becoming “modern,” and that it is therefore possible…
The Vietnam War Through Thai Eyes
I just came across a recent video by the Thai band Cocktail called “You” (เธอ). It is about a Thai soldier who fell in love with a Vietnamese girl while…
The Apowan Chinese and a French Fishing Contractor in 1954 Vietnam
The Geneva Accords of 1954 brought an end to the First Indochina War. As is well known, these accords called for the temporary division of the country at the 17th…
A Lost Opportunity or Opportunism in 1945 Vietnam?
One idea that has been expressed a lot is the idea that the US lost an opportunity in 1945 when Truman did not respond to any of Hồ Chí Minh’s…
The Absence of the Kwien in 1914 Chiang Mai
I was reading a book from 1914 called the Directory for Bangkok and Siam. Intended as a guidebook for foreign businessmen, this book contains a lot of practical information about…
The Art of Denouncing Landlords in 1950s North Vietnam
Last summer while in Bangkok I bought a book at Asia Books that was published a few years ago by the Fine Art Publishing House in Vietnam. It is called…
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