Education About Asia: Online Archives

Web Gleanings: Indochina

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INDOCHINA
Title: The Indochina Center—UC-Berkeley
URL: http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~sdenney/
For someone contemplating research at the Indochina Center at UCBerkeley, this site has a helpful list of its files and serials holdings. In addition, the large number of links to sites dealing with the countries of Indochina are organized by categories such as News, Academic, Government, etc., and short annotations accompany most.

CAMBODIA
Title: Cambodia in Modern History
URL: http://www.mekong.net/cambodia/
This page covers the history of Cambodia in the late twentieth century, in particular the Khmer Rouge period. There is a lot to read here starting with the five-part article on Cambodia’s recent history. Also, there are oral histories of survivors of the reign of the Khmer Rouge and many travel journals. The photo gallery is comprised of nine sets of photos with a total of 425 photos, to date. A long list of pertinent links is provided as well, under the “Resources” tab.

Title: Cambodia—Country Studies, Library of Congress
URL: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/khtoc.html
The Library of Congress produces detailed country studies including this one, most of which was written in 1987. While some of the information is sorely outdated, the sections on the history and politics of Cambodia are still valuable.

Title: Cambodia Post
URL: http://www.cambodiajournal.com/
The Post has an attractive site with top stories of the day easily accessible in the wide center frame of the page. To the right of this frame are headline stories arranged by topic. At the bottom are news stories from other SE Asian countries and from China. A huge number of links to Cambodian news sources and other related issues are listed in the left frame.

Title: Cambodia and the International Community
URL: http://www.asiasociety.org/publications/cambodia/
The Asia Society put this collection of essays about Cambodia and the International Community on the World Wide Web, but neglected to place the volume’s title on the main page. Otherwise it is easy to navigate among the in-depth and detailed essays of this book, most of which were written in the late 1990s.

Title: National Gallery of Art—Cambodia: Virtual Tour
URL: http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/camwel.htm
In 1997 the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC sponsored an exhibition on Angkor and Ancient Cambodia. That exhibit can be seen on these Web pages. [Quick Time is needed; for those without it, a link is provided for a free download.] By clicking and dragging the mouse, one moves through each gallery, getting a good sense of the exhibit and the pieces in it. There is a general description of each gallery and details on individual pieces, as well as audio narration for some.

Title: Dance—The Spirit of Cambodia
URL: http://www.asiasource.org/cambodia/
The Royal University of Arts, Phonm Penh, toured the United States with its dance and music program in 2001. One can still find background information about the tour, but the real value of this site can be found in the articles about the arts: Khmer music, dance, and drama. Teachers may find the study guide on the “Arts and Culture” page about dance, ecology, and history helpful. The page of links is quite extensive and useful.

Title: Asian Historical Architecture
URL: http://www.orientalarchitecture.com
This site has many spectacular images. Glide the mouse over the map and select the country of interest, or use the left sidebar. In the case of Cambodia, there are many photos of Angkor. By using the clickable Angkor map, photos of 16 temples and structures can be viewed. The photos of Angkor Wat can be followed in an orderly fashion; each image is associated with its location on a map of the compound.

 

LAOS

Title: WWW Hmong Homepage
URL: http://www.hmongnet.org/
There is a wealth of material here, starting with archived issues of the Hmong Studies newsletters that provide information about Hmongrelated research resources and recently released works in Hmong studies. All issues of another periodical, Hmong Studies Journal, are archived too—see the links at the bottom of the homepage. Additionally, there are numerous links to Hmong organizations and to articles about their history and culture.

Title: Vientiane Times
URL: http://www.vientianetimes.com/Headlines.html
Each day several stories about Laos from a variety sources are posted here. The articles for the previous month are also archived. At the top and bottom of the page are links to “Other Sites,” where one will find hundreds of links to Lao organizations, including governmental agencies, cultural entities, and social and political groups.

Title: Saturn Hmong
URL: http://ww2.saturn.stpaul.k12.mn.us/hmong/sathmong.html
For those interested in the Hmong language, this site has English/Hmong and Hmong/English dictionaries. Each word is associated with its translation and an audio file. There is also an English/Hmong picture dictionary organized by subject, such as animals, clothing, family, and so forth. Here too are audio files to help with pronunciation. Other language aids are on the site, including some Hmong/English lesson plans.

Title: World Legal Information Institute: Lao PDR
URL: http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/2169.html
This database contains documents that cover most aspects of law in Laos. From the Constitution to foreign investment law to intellectual property law, these and other legal topics are offered. A search of the World Legal Institute database is also available.

Title: Discover Laos
URL: http://www.laoembassy.com/discover/
Publications of the National Tourism Authority of Laos are used to create this online tour of Laos. There are brief articles on the geography, customs, and history of the country. Tourists will find a listing of entry procedures. Short segments about each province of Laos and a picture gallery without captions can be found on the site.

 

VIETNAM

Title: Vietnam Today: A Different War
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/asia/
vietnam-war-index.html
This series of articles, written in the year 2000, looks at Vietnam 25 years after the last helicopter left the roof of the American Embassy in Saigon. The core of this special section of The New York Times is the group of articles that focus on the present and others that look at the connection of the past to the current situation in Vietnam. There is an audio file of the panel of Vietnam War correspondents speaking about the War and its aftermath. A large number of articles covering the fall of Saigon are provided, as well.

Title: VSIRC—Vietnamese Studies Internet Resource Center
URL: http://www.vstudies.org/
The site has a collection of bibliographies compiled by Mark E. Pfeifer, PhD. More than ten of these bibliographies are organized by subject. Then, there are archived copies of the Review of Vietnamese Studies. This online journal contains lengthy articles, personal narratives, and short stories.

Title: Vietnam: Journeys of Body, Mind and Spirit
URL: http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/vietnam/
The American Museum of Natural History organized this exhibition along with the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. This online version is comprised of short “journeys” through aspects of life in Vietnam. Each journey is accompanied by appropriate images.

Title: Vietnam: Viettouch
URL: http://www.viettouch.com/
There are eight major areas of interest on the site, mostly focused on the arts: Art, Architecture, Literature, Music, etc. Within each major category are subcategories; at times, within these subcategories is further differentiation. The attractive and informative site covers two topics not frequently seen, namely numismatics and philately.

Title: The Wars for Vietnam
URL: http://vietnam.vassar.edu/
Robert Brigham of Vassar College created a course that was based, in part, on the primary source documents of the Vietnam War. In some cases, he was the first American to gain access to them. The “Overview of the War” and the “Documents” sections are the strong core of the site. There is also a good list of links to other relevant sites.

Title: Vietnam at Peace
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/packages/khtml/2005/04/30/
international/20050430_mgm_VIETNAM_FEATURE.html
In conjunction with Magnum Photos and the book Viet Nam at Peace, The New York Times presented this interactive feature thirty years after the end of the Vietnam War, April 30, 1975. The book is based on the work of Philip Jones Griffiths, who visited Vietnam more than twenty-five times since 1955. Fifty photos with captions from the book are displayed on this Web site.

Title: Vietnam Online
URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/
Although this revised series of eleven programs chronicling the Vietnam War was rebroadcast in 1997, its online companion site was put up in 2005, emphasizing its continued relevance. For many students this will be an excellent introduction to the Vietnam conflict, beginning with a timeline from 1945–1997. The “Who’s Who” section lists the major figures in Indochina and the US, with short comments about their roles. The “Reflections” section provides short essays about the war from Vietnamese and Americans. For those who cannot access copies of the video series, there are print transcripts of the eleven programs in the section “About the TV Series.” The site’s Teacher’s Guide is probably best for secondary school students.