Investigating Angkor
What can history and archaeology teach us about how human societies interact with each other and with the environment? How can investigating the past help us understand modern identities and ask better questions about our own futures as we now face shifts in our climate and environment?
Investigating Angkor is a working group for middle and high school teachers that will engage with these questions through a sustained study of the Khmer empire with its capital at Angkor.
Why Angkor?
Angkor was the capital of the Khmer empire, whose 9th-15th century domination of mainland Southeast Asia offers valuable lessons in politics, transregional interactions, and environmental change. Studying Angkor offers an opportunity to deepen core historical themes. In the pre-modern period these themes include: the spread and expression of belief systems and religious syncretism, regional interconnections through trade and diplomacy, the emergence of political hierarchies, the physical infrastructure of state-building. It provides an example of how political structures and day-to-day life were transformed in a place where a changing physical environment was intertwined with political and social shifts. In the modern period, teachers can revisit the Khmer empire to help students understand the role of historical memory in the construction of national identities.
Participants in Investigating Angkor will learn about the history, art, archaeology, and legacies of Angkor and develop lessons for their own classrooms based around this material.
Curriculum Alignment
Southeast Asia is often underrepresented in social studies curricula in both middle school and high school. However, there are multiple places to incorporate the study of Angkor into world history, art history, and other social studies courses. Here you can see how the study of Angkor fits into the California, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island history-social studies standards & frameworks, as well as AP World History and AP Art History courses.
Team + Schedule + Stipend
Team
- 15 teachers from middle school, high school, and community college classrooms.
- Lead scholar-expert: Dr. Miriam Stark, Director of CSEAS and professor of Anthropologyat University of Hawai’i
- Facilitator/Pedagogy: Shane Carter, Program Coordinator for ORIAS at UC Berkeley
- Session 4 scholar-expert: Dr. Piphal Heng, postdoctoral scholar at Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA
- Session 6 scholar-expert: Dr. Paul Lavy, professor of Art History at University of Hawai'i
- Session 7 scholar-expert: Dr. Penelope Edwards, Director of Institute for East Asian Studies and professor of Southeast Asian Studies at UC Berkeley
- Session 8 scholar-expert: Dr. Sophea Seng, professor of Asian American Studies
Program Schedule
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October 2023 - May 2024: Seven 2-hour online meetings with scholar-experts. Participants will be asked to do ~90 minutes of preparatory reading before each meeting.
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June - August 2024: Participants work independently to create a 3-day (or longer) lesson appropriate to their own teaching context.
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September 2024: Participants will convene in Long Beach to share and discuss lessons, to visit Cambodia Town, and engage in conversation with local Cambodian American students.
Stipend
Each teacher-participant will receive a stipend of $1150 upon completion of the program.
Sessions & Materials
Session 1
November 12, 2023
Instructor: Dr. Miriam Stark
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Familiarize yourself with the map of Southeast Asia. On a blank map your should be able to locate/identify:
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Countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam
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Major Islands/Landforms: Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Java, New Guinea, Sulawesi, Sumatra
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Cities: Bandar Seri Begawan, Bangkok, Hanoi, Manila, Jakarta, Naypyidaw, Kuala Lumpur, Phnom Penh, Vientiane
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Rivers: Irrawaddy, Salween, Mekong
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Oceans, Seas, etc.: Indian Ocean, Andaman Sea, Java Sea, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, Bay of Bengal, Gulf of Tonkin, Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Martaban, Luzon Strait, Malacca Strait, Macassar Strait, Sunda Strait
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Optional: Watch Physical Geography of Southeast Asia
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Optional: Reinforce the map by watching “This is South East Asia: Culture, Food, and Places” (backpacker point of view)
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Optional: Quiz yourself on SEA Countries
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Optional: Quiz yourself on SEA Cities
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Optional: Quiz yourself on some other trivia
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Look closely at this map to see how highlands, plains, river valleys, and wetlands fit into modern nation-state boundaries.
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View a short segment (06:52 - 8:52) ) from My Southeast Asia with Dr Farish: Borders & Beyond
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Optional to view the full episode
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Read the Preface + Chapters 1 and 2 from A Short History of Cambodia: from Empire to Survival (Tully, 2005)
Session 2
December 16, 2023
Instructor: Dr. Miriam Stark
Read ONE option
30 minutes
Get started with a historical overview of the pre-Angkorian and Angkorian periods. You have three options. You only need to read ONE of these.
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Review Chapter 3 of the Tully text (Tully linked here)
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Read "History of Cambodia" from Britannica (up to "Cambodia Under French Rule")
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Read "Cambodia: A Historical Overview" and "The Legacy of Angkor" from Asia Society
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Note: These documents (or excerpts from these documents) could work in a classroom.
Watch
60 minutes
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"How an Indian Merchant Became Cambodia's First King: a Story of Indianization" (12 minutes):https://youtu.be/kpTUOhyFyvw?si=wBGYeD4RTpjqkIuK
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Which parts of this account do you think might be debated by researchers, and why? Make notes/write questions about "Indianization" as you watch.
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"Cambodia’s Temple Kingdom: The Mark of Empire – Angkor" (46 minutes):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQYJ8-o1K0w
Optional
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Professor Andrew Chittick’s StoryMap, "Maritime Asia in the Third Century CE" Note: This is a complicated document, but it gives you very good insight into how historians interpret textual evidence about Funan.
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This StoryMap draws on texts produced in the Wu Kingdom during the 3rd century CE. This was during the Three Kingdoms Period, after the breakdown of the centralized Han Dynasty. Wu was the southernmost of the Three Kingdoms and sent at least one embassy southeast to Funan.
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Read Section II: Funan & Section III: Funan Seas for primary sources about Funan
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Read the Introduction to learn more about the sources and the historical context
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Note: Advanced students (AP) could tackle one or two of these documents if you provide context. They would probably struggle with the website itself.
- Why do we call Southeast Asia this term? This is a scholarly bite-sized lecture on the topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sxJrmtdUX4
Session 3
February 3, 2024
Instructor: Dr. Miriam Stark
Read
90 minutes
Read sections 1-7, 9-20, 33-34, and 39-40 from Customs of Cambodia (author Zhou Daguan, trans. Uk)
If you have additional time, read other sections in this priority order:
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Sections 21-32 (Animals! Utensils! Palanquins! Not essential, but gives a real flavor of the place).
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Section 38 (Sociological)
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Sections 8, 35-37 (Kind of interesting, but the contentions about virgins (section 8) are unverifiable and the others are just a little less compelling).
Session 4
March 3, 2024
Instructor: Dr. Piphal Heng
Watch
~60 minutes
Please watch each of the following excerpts.
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“The Surface Below: 9th-15th Century Angkor and the Khmer World” (Dr. Piphal Heng lecture)
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Cosmology, Kingship, Economy, Polity, Power (12:23 - 34:38)
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Angkor in Global context (45:31 - 48:07)
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Heritage/identity (48:07 - 52:30)
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“Angkor: Urbanism and Political Economy” (Dr. Miriam Stark lecture)
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Statecraft & Connectivity (15:00 - 18:55)
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labor/public works/economy (35:56 - 54:40)
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"Badass Queens of Cambodia’s Khmer Empire" (07:07 - 16:39)
Read
~30 minutes
Please spend your remaining 30 minutes of prep time exploring one of the following lessons or articles.
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Primary Source lessons on SE Asia: https://sites.google.com/view/investigating-history/grade-7/g7-u4-southeast-asia-and-oceania?authuser=0
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Angkor lessons from Australia National Library: https://www.nla.gov.au/digital-classroom/year-8/asia-pacific-world/angkorkhmer-empire-c802-c1431
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“Gods and Temples: The Nature(s) of Angkorian Religion” from The Angkorian World (Hendrickson, Stark, Evans, eds.)
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“Medieval Khmer Society: The Life and Times of Jayavarman VII (ca. 1120–1218)” by Paul Nietupski
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“Garuda, Vajrapāni and religious change in Jayavarman VII’s Angkor” by Peter D. Sharrock
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“Jayavarman II's Military Power: The Territorial Foundation of the Angkor Empire” by O. W. Wolters
Session 5
March 23, 2024
Instructor: Dr. Miriam Stark
Read
~75 minutes
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Re-read A Short History of Cambodia: from Empire to Survival (Tully, 2005), pp. 48 - 54
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Diego Do Cuoto's 1551 description of Angkor, "Of the Great and Marvellous City Discovered in the Forests of the Kingdom of Camboja, its construction and its location" (the English text begins a few pages into the document)
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"Angkor Wat archaeological digs yield new clues to its civilization’s decline" by Alison Carter in The Conversation
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"Perspectives on the 'Collapse' of Angkor and the Khmer Empire" from The Angkorian World (Evans, et al)
Watch
~15 minutes
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"Come Tell Me How You Live: Exploring the Residences of Angkorian Khmers" 16:52 - 20:50 (Dr. Miriam Stark lecture)
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“Angkor Wat (Full Episode) | Access 360 World Heritage” from Nat Geo (14:58 - 21:43)
Session 6
April 14, 2024
Instructor: Dr. Paul Lavy
Read
~30 minutes
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“Many Lives of Ancient Khmer Sculpture: From the Pre-Angkorian Period to Contemporary Cambodia” by Paul Lavy
Watch ONE
30 - 60 minutes
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“Cambodia tracking down thousands of priceless looted antiquities” from 60 Minutes (26:37)
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The Stolen Warriors on Vimeo ($1.99 to rent/$5.99 to buy):
Optional prep
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Another source to learn about the looting of artifacts is the Dynamite Doug podcast about looting of artifacts from Cambodia.
- For information about components of cities, navigating cities, and life in Angkor as depicted in its artwork, watch Piphal Heng’s lecture “Angkor: People, Monument, City, Statecraft” (11:06 - 30:24 and 34:13 - 47:16)
Session 7
May 19, 2024
Instructor: Dr. Penelope Edwards
Read
- Edwards, Penny. “Inarguably Angkor.” in The Angkorian World, eds. Mitch Hendrickson, Miriam T. Stark & Damian Evans, Routledge 2023.
Optional Viewing
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Oh Phnom Penh Euy videohttps://youtu.be/RXJnsIOVO0s?si=_AzzGl1Uk4J9K7n3
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Laura Mam TedX talk https://www.ted.com/talks/laura_mam_how_music_revolution_changes_cambodia_narrative
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Vann Da Time to Rise (with English subtitles) https://youtu.be/rvje5oblrLw?si=BzpG6tFSpIWtFCqw
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Gong Nay Khmer Ladies Virtues (video + handout of lyrics) https://youtu.be/xaRfZrbqXG8?si=Zi6u4IX__ttadEoI
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TBP Top of the Lady music video, has Angkor references https://youtu.be/m29n1fBnxck?si=lBZY45XGj99LOhb6
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Article on Khmer Hip Hop https://liftedasia.com/article/tbp-top-of-the-lady