Engendering the Buddhist State

This insightful exploration of Cambodian cultural history, Engendering the Buddhist State, offers a fresh perspective on historiography and power dynamics.

Drawing from over a decade of field and archival research, Engendering the Buddhist State delves into Cambodian cultural history and historiography. The author aims to broaden and deepen the understanding of the Cambodian Theravadin politico-cultural complex through an interdisciplinary analysis of performative and representational strategies that emerged primarily at Angkor. This exploration highlights how cultural practices contribute to the formation of social collectivities in Cambodia.

The analysis includes close readings of a diverse array of cultural artifacts, such as epigraphic and manuscript texts, sculptures, and ritual practices. In Engendering the Buddhist State, the author critically reevaluates prevailing paradigms of Cambodian historiography, advocating for the development of new or hybrid histories that incorporate previously marginalized perspectives. This innovative approach engages with indigenous narrative practices, revealing that historical events cannot be entirely detached from their aesthetic representations. The book pays particular attention to the influence of sexual difference in the reconstruction of history.

Furthermore, the work presents a theory of power that accounts for how vernacular cultures navigate, adapt, and sometimes resist cosmopolitan forces. By offering a fresh perspective on classical Southeast Asian materials, Engendering the Buddhist State is an essential resource for students and scholars of Asian Art, Religion and Philosophy, Buddhism, and Southeast Asian History.