The Big Stone Houses in the Lowlands. The Ruins of Angkor Wat in Local Phnong Perception

Lunch Lecture by Dr Sylvain Vogel.

The lecture

In this lecture, Sylvain Vogel will discuss a tale that was told to him in Cambodia in 2001 by a representative of the local Phnong people. The tale provides an explanation of the buildings of the famous site of Angkor Wat. The tale also tries to explain the genesis of new political systems and the introduction of writing, which, according to the story, was accepted by some (living in the lowlands), and not accepted by others (notably among the Phnong themselves, who fled to the mountains). The tale offers a fascinating insight in the role of oral history, the importance of the linguistic study of oral literature, the local perception of the history of the Angkor Wat temple and the palace complex, and the self-perception of a particular ethic group living in Cambodia.

The speaker

Dr Sylvain Vogel is an independent researcher who has taught languages, literature and linguistics at a number of institutions, including the Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, Pakistan; Kabul University, Afghanistan, and the Royal University of Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. He was a member of the LASELDI research team in Besançon until 2012.

He studied Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, and comparative Indo-European languages in Strassburg and obtained his doctorate on the Pashto language at the Sorbonne, Paris, under the supervision of Professor Gilbert Lazard. He has since then continued his linguistic and ethno-linguistic research throughout the world, notably in Afghanistan (1977-1983), Brazil (1984-1986), Pakistan (1986-1991) and Cambodia (1991-2011). In Cambodia he has been particularly active in the field of Phnong studies, publishing a grammar of the Phnong language with special attention to its literature. He was granted the Prix Paul Dumézil and the Bronze Medal of the CNRS. He is also engaged in the protection of Phnong speaking communities against the demands of global economy.

Registration

Lunch will be provided, but registration is required. Please use the registration form below.

About IIAS Lunch Lectures

Every month, an IIAS researcher or visiting scholar will present his or her work-in-progress in an informal setting to colleagues and other interested attendees. IIAS organises these lunch lectures to give the research community the opportunity to freely discuss ongoing research and exchange thoughts and ideas.