2011-2012 - Center for Khmer Studies

from the Cambodian War, and then the exile period fromMay 1975.Ludivine Roche is a postdoctoral researcher at Universitéde la Sorbonne. Her research is entitled Art and History atthe End of the Angkorian Period in Cambodia. Following onfrom her Ph.D. thesis, this project deals with the history ofCambodia between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries.It further examines the art from the end of the Angkorianperiod by enlarging the field of research to more monuments.Specifically, Ludivine is studying the figurativeornamentation of temples at sites such as Ta Prohm andPreah Khan, as well as temples further afield at BanteayChmar. The ultimate objective of this study is to first leadto a better understanding of the art from the fall of theAngkorian period, and then to make use of historical andreligious data found among the figurative ornamentationof monuments. This will help to clarify the cultural contextin which Cambodia existed during that transition period.Caroline Herbelin is a researcher from Université Paris IVSorbonne. She is conducting postdoctoral research for herproject, Art and Handicrafts in Cambodia in the TwentiethCentury: Doctrine and Discourse. Caroline is focusing on thecolonial period, which will form part of a larger projectthat critically examines handicrafts across the twentiethcentury, up to current organization and perceptions of production.The research objectives will first address whyhandicrafts have been at the heart of Cambodian societyand politics - to a greater extent than in other SoutheastAsian countries - from the French colonial conquest to thepresent, possibly even inhibiting the development of anartistic scene. Secondly, Caroline will examine how arepertoire of handicrafts considered “authentic” was constructedduring the colonial period. How these repertoiresinfluenced the practices of artists and artisans in the shortand long run will also be analyzed.Luc Benaiche is a doctoral student from Université deProvence. His project, entitled Justice and Prisons Under theFrench Protectorate in Cambodia addresses French colonialintervention into Cambodia’s affairs, from whichCambodia’s legal and prison system resulted after its independencein 1953. This research will draw on documentationfrom the National Archives of Cambodia to gain a betterunderstanding of the evolution of the legal system duringthe Protectorate period, its functioning or malfunctioning,and the reasons for, and consequences of, changesimposed by the French. It will focus on the functioning ofprisons and detention centers, the daily life of detainees,the types of sentences handed out, and who this colonialrepression was directed at, and why. Finally, Luc will lookat the place of political repression in Cambodia in terms ofwhether it was a function of that particular period, andwhether it was a more general policy employed inIndochina, or specific to Cambodia.Kompong chhnang prisonin focus 27