Northern Illinois University
Center for Southeast Asian Studies
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Music permeates our lives in a multitude of ways, and many believe it is a gateway to the supernatural. However, it is much more than that. Music can reveal history, culture, religion, and politics. Eric Jones sits down with Andrew Shahriari (School of Music, Kent State University) and Chamni Sripraram (NIU, Thai Cultural and Fine Arts Institute of Chicago) to discuss how music in Thailand is a gateway to its cultural traditions. 

Please find below a link to “Lanna Traditions: Music and Dance of North Thailand” in addition to questions that can be used to inspire discussion and writing.

1. What was the Lanna kingdom, and what is its significance in Thai history?
2. What were the cultural and economic ramifications of the opening of the Old Chiang Mai Cultural Center?
3. What might one experience during spirit dance rituals?
4. Discuss trance versus possession.
5. For what occasion--and in what manner--was the instrument phin pia traditionally used?
6. Why was use of the instrument discouraged during 1930-40s in Thailand?
7. How was the phin pia saved from extinction and its status restored as the symbol of Lanna music?

See more teacher resource installments that correspond to insightful conversations with Southeast Asian experts, writers, artists and musicians recorded at NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

In this episode, Eric Jones hosts Nathanael Sumaktoyo (postdoctoral fellow with the Global Religion Research Initiative hosted in the Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame) as they explore the puzzle of Muslim voting behavior with double minority candidates. Taking advantage of the presence of an ethnic and religious minority candidate in a gubernatorial election in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and employing both experimental and observational designs, Sumaktoyo finds that ethnic considerations drive voters’ choices more than religious ones. He discusses how these findings inform our understanding of the limits and extents of religious influence on Muslim voting behavior.

Listen to “Prayer and Skin Color: Religious and Ethnic Sentiments in the Jakarta Elections” and see below  questions that can be used to inspire discussion and writing.

1. Who is Ahok? What was unique about him and the 2017 elections that refocused Sumaktoyo’s research?
2. Dr. Jones mentions “primordial connections” between ethnicity and religion. What does he mean by this? Recap Dr. Sumaktoyo’s response, including and discussing one of his examples.
3. Briefly describe the role of religion in [modern] political history in Indonesia.
4. What did the short clause in the Jakarta Charter that was discussed say/what does it stipulate? What has been the fallout?
5. What was life like for ethnic Chinese under former President Suharto?
6. According to the discussion in this podcast, what were some of the factors and sentiments that caused or allowed for the ethnic riots in major Indonesian cities in 1998?
7. Why was Ahok sentenced to two years in jail? What were his charges?
8. What limitations did Sumaktoyo face while he was attempting to test his research questions?
9. What is experimental design, and how did Sumaktoyo employ it?
10. According to the speaker, what role did religion play in voting behavior? What about ethnicity?

 Crossroads would like to thank Agung Pradanta for the music on this episode’s music.

See more teacher resource installments that correspond to insightful conversations with Southeast Asian experts, writers, artists and musicians recorded at NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Katherine Bowie (Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison) joins host Eric Jones and NIU Thai language professor Kanjana Thepboriruk and University of Wisconsin-Madison PhD candidate Matthew Trew to discuss her new research on the influential monk, Kruba Srivichai, and his place in defining modern Thailand. Kruba Srivichai (1878-1939) is the most famous monk of northern Thailand.  Born during a stormy night, northerners came to believe that he was a tonbun, a saintly precursor of Maitreya.  Able to mobilize popular support on an unprecedented scale, Srivichai was involved in the building or restoration of over 100 temples throughout the northern region. Srivichai continues to be a political force to the present. 

Listen to “The Saint in the Political Storms of Modern Thailand” and see below questions that can be used to inspire discussion and writing.

1. What makes Kruba Srivichai a crucial figure in terms of the creation of the modern Thai state?
2. Describe a visit to the historic road and temple he constructed overlooking Chiang Mai, as recounted by the guests in this episode.
3. Why have both northern Thais and Thais from central Thailand wanted to depoliticize Srivichai?
4. Against what backdrop did the central Thai monarchy try to gain control over monastic orders in northern Thailand?
5. For what reasons was Srivichai simultaneously feared by the state and revered by the populace?
6. Why did Kruba Srivichai face treason charges in 1920? What was the motivation for his action(s)?
7. What are the main differences in the structures of the monastic orders of central and northern Thailand?
8. Consider what a guest in this episode meant by “the educational power of tourism”; how might this be observed and/or researched in Thailand (or anywhere)?

Crossroads would like to thank the Dangdut Cowboys for this episode’s music.

See more teacher resource installments that correspond to insightful conversations with Southeast Asian experts, writers, artists and musicians recorded at NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

In this episode of Crossroads, Rosalie Metro (Assistant Professor, College of Education, University of Missouri) discusses about her captivating 2018 novel, Have Fun in Burma, which deals with the conflict between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Please find below a link to “Have Fun in Burma” in addition to questions that can be used to inspire discussion and writing.

1. Outline Metro’s past research on Burma. As an educator, what has been her focus?
2. What are the reasons for and the benefits of approaching this topic as a novel, rather than as an academic paper, according to Metro?
3. State the premise of the novel, and then discuss why the novel being set in the year 2012 might be important. Consider social media use, political climates, media coverage of current events, etc.
4. Why did the author utilize a close third person point of view in her novel? Discuss perception, objectivity (or lack thereof), positionality, and authority.
5. What reactions has the author encountered? Discuss some of the cultural understandings and misunderstandings she mentions.
6. What are some of the lasting effects of colonialism on Burmese social and national identity?
7. The interview mentions “voluntourism” several times. What does this term mean? What types of voluntourism have you seen or experienced? Once you have a short list of examples, briefly outline issues associated with each. Consider this quote and how it might inform your discussion: “The aspiration to help. . .is a noble one, but the booming business of ‘voluntourism’ sustains practices and institutions that actually do harm.” (See “The business of voluntourism: do western do-gooders actually do harm?” by T. Rosenberg, Sept. 13, 2018, The Guardian.)
8. What will Metro’s future research include?

See more teacher resource installments that correspond to insightful conversations with Southeast Asian experts, writers, artists and musicians recorded at NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Rachel Jacobs (PhD candidate, Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison) shares her innovative interdisciplinary research into non-execution deaths during the Cambodian Genocide. Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979) had one of the highest mortality rates of any communist revolution, with the deaths of approximately one quarter of the population: half from direct violence and the other half from indirect means, in particular starvation. What explains the variation in indirect deaths, those that resulted from means other than execution, during this period of mass violence? Jacobs argues that that while Khmer Rouge control over agricultural production was one cause leading to high rates of starvation deaths, its policies of social control associated with the collectivization process exacerbated the problems of famine. 

Listen to “Buffers against Famine in Khmer Rouge Cambodia” and see questions below that can be used to inspire discussion and writing.

1. On what aspects of mass killing under the Khmer Rouge does the speaker’s research focus? How is her research on the Cambodian genocide innovative?
2. To dig deeper into question 1: What is meant by “direct violence”? How does it differ from “indirect”? Mention examples given in the discussion and incorporate ‘intention’ into your answer.
3. Jacobs discusses a vast range of experiences under the Khmer Rouge regime. How were changes to daily life different from one group of people to the next, even groups that were not geographically distant? What were some of the factors causing this range of disruption?
4. Jacobs utilizes literature on natural disasters to inform her own research on survivability, violence, and collectivization. Discuss the common effects of ‘social isolation’ and its importance in both research fields.
5. Give a brief history of the Khmer Rouge, focusing on events in 1970 and 1975.
6. How does the speaker talk about the effects of ‘economic controls’ and ‘social controls’?
7. What is “social collectivization”, and what two levels of it does Jacobs look at?
8. Describe the research methods and methodology Jacobs used.
9. From her comparisons of two villages, what relationship did she identify between the levels of social collectivization and death from indirect means?

See more teacher resource installments that correspond to insightful conversations with Southeast Asian experts, writers, artists and musicians recorded at NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's regime, the war on drugs turned into a war on addicts. Despite its popularity among some, the war has also elicited other responses, including those from photojournalists. Their coverage of the war has sought to call attention to the brutality of the nightly killings. Vicente Rafael (Professor, Department of History, University of Washington) joins us as we explore the role of photojournalism as an act of witnessing as much as a style of mourning.

Listen to “The Trauma of Witnessing: Photographing the Philippine Drug War” and see questions below that can be used to inspire discussion and writing.

1. What is Duterte’s signature program, the “War on Drugs”? Who have been the primary targets? What has the execution of this campaign looked like?
2. Rafael mentions criticisms of Duterte trying to nationalize his “Davao Model”. What is this model, and how has it affected his approach to policies as president?
3. Rafael refers to the War on Drugs as “an exercise in treating the symptoms and not the root of the problem.” Discuss the disjunct between what Duterte sees as “the source of all evil” and the larger conditions associated with drug use.
4. Between 2016 and 2018, there has been a shift in the types of images emerging from the Drug War in the Philippines. Describe the photos (content, composition, and context) that were seen early on in Duterte’s presidency. What purpose did they serve? What has changed since those early images were taken, and to what extent has the international community played a role?
5. What does Rafael mean by “public torture”? What does public torture “advertise”, and to whom?
6. What do the speakers mean by “the agency of the corpse”? What “work” does a corpse have the potential of doing?
7. Trauma, shock…these words come up in interviews with journalists covering this period in the history of the Philippines. How does “the process of witnessing” offer a way of moving through and dealing with these harrowing experiences? What might this process entail, as described by Rafael?
8. What happens when photographic images are commoditized and circulated in the global mediascape? Consider the photojournalists, in addition to the photos themselves, and ideas of witnessing, remembering, validation, and the compulsion to document.
9. Rafael gives an intriguing, brief history of crime photography that includes logistics, mechanics, lighting, and the resulting signature images (highly contrastive). Consider the aesthetics unique to the genre of photojournalism. How have images taken in the Philippines—starkly illuminated, sometimes “haloed”—worked to produce what Rafael calls “a sacred tableau”? Consider the ideas of presentation, “restoring specificity”, martyrdom, the work of mourning, as well as invitation to action—whether physical, emotional, psychological—on the part of the viewer.
10. What do the panelists mean by “mechanical forgetting” and “organic forgetting”? Think about the last few years of your life. Have you experienced one or both types of forgetting? To your comfort level, describe the process (Was it expressed or subconscious? Intellectual or visceral?) and how you think about it in retrospect (Was it cathartic or simply necessary?).

See more teacher resource installments that correspond to insightful conversations with Southeast Asian experts, writers, artists and musicians recorded at NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

With a uniquely balanced combination of salty, sweet, sour and spicy flavors, Thai cuisine burst onto Los Angeles and American culinary scenes in the 1980s. Dr. Mark Padoongpatt (Associate Professor of Asian and Asian American Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas) talks about his book, Flavors of Empire: Food and the Making of Thai America, which weaves together histories of food, empire, race, immigration and Los Angeles in the second half of the twentieth century.

Padoongpatt explores how and why Thai food became hyper-visible while Thai people remain invisible in American life. As the story of Thai cuisine in the U.S. continues to unfold, Flavors of Empire urges us to think critically about the long journeys—both geographic and historical—that our food has taken to get to our plates, and the significance of food culture to understanding the transnational links and connections between Southeast Asia and the United States.

Educators, please find below a link to “Flavors of Empire: Food and the Making of Thai America,” as well as questions that can be used to inspire discussion and writing.

1. Mark Padoongpatt was initially reluctant to do this food-related project, saying, “I have a very ambivalent relationship to Thai food.” Growing up, he says people often equated his identity with Thai cuisine; so, as he began his academic career, his inclination was to NOT study and write about food. How did his relationship to the topic—and its eventual incorporation into his historical and cultural analysis—evolve, resulting in this book?
2. Padoongpatt says that the history of Thai food in the US does not start when Thais stepped foot on American soil. Situate Americans’ introduction to Thai food historically, considering U.S. global expansion, familiarity with the Asia Pacific region, and cultural curiosity in the 20^th
3. How did necessity, substitution, improvisation, entrepreneurism and even smuggling play into the story of Thai food becoming available in the U.S.? The story revolves around ingredients.
4. The first Thai market and Thai restaurant in the U.S. opened in Los Angeles. How did the location boost their status and help Thai food become popular in southern California (and eventually the country), become a cuisine with “cultural cachet,” as Padoongpatt describes it?
5. Discuss the role of the Thai government in the expansion of Thai food into and throughout the U.S. and other countries; focus on the 2000s economic development plan, originally called ‘Thai Kitchen to the World’. Address standardization and the exportation of goods and chefs. What does Padoongpatt mean by the phrase “soft power through gastrodiplomacy?”
6. A section of Mark Padoongpatt’s book is devoted to looking at Thai restaurants as “culinary contact zones,” where interesting power relations can be observed behind the kitchen door. What does he say about some of these relationships that appear familial (whether through kinship or through business bonds) and provide benefits to those involved? What does he say about the possibility of exploitation?
7. Reflect on authenticity, as discussed in this episode. Who is concerned with authenticity and how is that sometimes manifested? Consider who’s making and who’s consuming Thai food, where it’s being consumed, artistry and dynamism, standards and who’s setting them, fusion and marketing.
8. What is “cuisine-driven multiculturalism”? Describe the controversy surrounding this type of tourism. Where does the speaker land on the issue, and how does he articulate his views, as well as the problems with both sides of the debate? What is your personal approach to thinking through this controversy?
9. Read the following articles from NPR and the Los Angeles Times, respectively. The first, from 2016, mentions many of the same details that Padoongpatt does, regarding the history of the market and of Thai food in America. The second, from 2019, details the store’s sad closing. Both articles mention a diverse clientele, NPR saying that “to get ingredients from around the world, all sorts of people shop at the market: Asians, Latinos, hipsters and exciting new chefs.” Looking back at your answers to questions 3 and 4, write a eulogy to Bangkok Market. What would you say that captures the fascinating history of its genesis, its important place in the community, and its absence that might be felt by many now?

More listening:

• NPR (“The Family-Run Thai Market That Feeds LA's Eclectic Food Scene,” 2016).
• LA Times (“Bangkok Market, the First Thai Market in Los Angeles, Has Closed,” 2019).

In this episode, NIU historians Eric Jones and Kenton Clymer interview Bradley Simpson (Department of History, University of Connecticut) and discuss genocide, justice, and the ongoing search for truth and accountability in the 1965-66 Indonesian mass killings. Their talk explores ongoing campaigns crucial to the stability of Indonesia’s fragile democracy.

Listen to “Genocide and Justice: The Ongoing Search for Truth and Accountability for the 1965-1966 Indonesian Mass Killings” and see questions below that can be used to inspire discussion and writing.

1. The year was 1965. The day was September 30. Briefly describe the events—including key players and their intents—that occurred, resulting in the mass killings that are the subject of this episode.
2. Now, situate the events of that fateful day within the larger social conflicts between the Indonesian communist party (PKI) and the two other main political forces in the country: the Indonesian army and the Islamic religious community/communities. Sketch a diagram of the stakeholders and their associated political ideologies that were at odds with one another.
3. Set the stage for us further, detailing US involvement in Southeast Asia in the 1960s. Consider Vietnam War and Cold War activities (and also involvement in Burma and Cambodia, as discussed later, at minute 28:13 of this episode). In your own words, how would you describe the mindset of U.S. military and intelligence officials at this time?
4. Leading up to 1965, the US had been furtively trying to cultivate the Indonesian army as an anti-communist force. How and to what extent was the U.S. a player in the events discussed in your answers to questions 1 and 2? Include in your answer tangibles, as well as doctrinal and intellectual influences.
5. As early as 1959, under the Eisenhower administration, the stated goal of US covert operations in Indonesia was to try to encourage an armed clash between Indonesian armed forces and the Indonesian communist party, with the expectation that the PKI would be defeated. What strategies did the US/CIA employ towards this goal?
6. Bradley Simpson says, regarding their close working relationship and promise of US support, “The problem was…that the Indonesian army was still very nationalistic.” The goals of the two entities were overlapping, but not synonymous. Discuss the disconnect between the goals of the US and those of the Indonesian Army. How were they manifested during the coup and the resulting mass killings?
7. Describe the wide net that swept up political prisoners. Who was at risk of being caught in it?
8. Regarding the massacres of 1965-66, for 32 years there was one national narrative, Simpson says. How were these events talked about during those decades? How were counternarratives squashed?
9. Post-Suharto, Simpson explains, there was a slow but significant thaw in policies that had been frozen in place following the September 30^th How did a new national discussion begin, and what steps were taken to make that a possibility (education, publications, advocacy organizations, films, etc.)? How has the battle for public memory been fought since 1998?
10. Jones asks, “Why was the response of Islamic groups in Indonesia so strong and stern against this new revision?” In his answer, Simpson delves into the perceived religious and political threats felt by all involved groups—Islamic, communist, and army. As you listen to his answer, review your sketch from question 2; you can now add to it, flesh it out (add specific fears, reasons for distrust, deemed alliances), and get a much clearer picture of the situation that existed at this time in Indonesian history.
11. Simpson mentions five ways that new national narratives are emerging. For each, elaborate on what is being done, as well as what lost information and/or voices are being recovered?
12. Academic work by a young generation of Indonesian scholars
13. Human rights organizations’ initiatives
14. Indonesian government investigations and reports
15. NGO and civil society tribunals and hearings
16. The 2012 documentary film “Act of Killing” by director Joshua Oppenheimer
17. Towards the end of this episode, Dr. Simpson tells us about his project with the National Security Archives and National Declassification Center, which has recently digitized 30,000 pages of declassified documents in exchange for making them publicly available. These documents have prompted new and intense discussions within Indonesia (and many other countries). Read several of these documents and imagine what conversations these might spark among young people, both in Indonesia and in your country. What themes are most engaging to you, personally? In your opinion, do these documents offer a clear pathway towards truth and reconciliation? Why or why not?

See more teacher resource installments that correspond to insightful conversations with Southeast Asian experts, writers, artists and musicians recorded at NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Like many people, Jon Racek's (Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, Indiana University-Bloomington) career in modern architecture took an abrupt turn after the 2008 financial recession. While he reassessed his career and how to move forward, he ended up moving to Thailand with his family. The move catalyzed a journey to build community education systems, specifically playground equipment. Eric Jones sits down with Racek to discuss this journey, its connection with Southeast Asia, and how his idea is championing a new approach to NGO work.

Listen to “Tools for Empowerment: Southeast Asian Community Playground Designs” and see questions below that can be used to inspire discussion and writing.

1. Jon Racek called himself “a man in search of a project.” What series of events prompted him to embark on his current journey? How did his career as an architect, furniture designer, and entrepreneur with firms in Boston and Los Angeles, as well as time spent as an elementary school teacher in Compton, prepare him for the founding of Play360 in 2009?
2. Consider this quote: “I believe that public space should be intentional: it should be obvious that you belong” (Janet Echelman, renowned American sculptor). Racek holds similar opinions about public space. As you listen, make notes about how his projects have and continue to create spaces that are intentionally inclusive. Think in terms of the systems involved, not only objects.
3. In this talk, Racek says that “if people can play together, they can live together,” implying that play is hugely important for a functioning society. What are your thoughts on this? What benefits does play have beyond amusement? To get started, please visit his website and scroll down to the ‘Play Matters Because’ section ( http://play360.org/).
4. In most of the places Play360 has worked, enrollment and retention are major issues that school administrators report needing addressed. How might a playground help improve the numbers for each of these?  
5. Eric Jones mentions that “education at the parent level is often gendered.” Explain what he means by this, and also how community projects such as these might interact unexpectedly with gender roles.
6. Racek talks about the commonalities of his projects, no matter where they happen. Look at the list below and note what he says about each:

• Viability of project
• Safety
• Sustainability
• Community involvement
• Community buy in
• Ability to replicate
• Low cost
• Durability

7. How is education embedded in Racek’s playground designs? What opportunities for bringing the classroom outside do his designs provide? Discuss engaged learning.
8. Watch this video from Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, which discusses the importance of play. How can Jon Racek’s and Play360’s projects support the following principles?

• Develop and nurture responsive relationships
• Strengthen core life skills
• Reduce sources of stress

9. When we are all travelling again, consider taking a trip to Belize, India, Ethiopia, or Peru as a volunteer participant with Play360! Program assistant internships are also available for motivated, civic-minded individuals interested in gaining experience with a growing non-profit organization.

See more teacher resource installments that correspond to insightful conversations with Southeast Asian experts, writers, artists and musicians recorded at NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Dr. Shoua Yang (Professor of Political Science at St. Cloud State University) joins Dr. Eric Jones to discuss the impacts of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The investments are business ventures, trade, immigration, and therefore influence. To explain the movement of these capitals, Yang examines how Lao economic and political variables have induced such inflows. His insight reveals the benefits and consequences of receiving aid from foreign nations in the process of development. 

Listen to “Chinese Foreign Direct Investment Inflows into Lao People’s Democratic Republic” and see below questions that can be used to inspire discussion and writing.

1. Define foreign direct investment (FDI)
2. At the time of this interview, how significant was Chinese FDI in Laos?
3. Yang describes conversations with US officials, in which he was told that the US’s mission in Laos was to balance Chinese influence. When he asked what the economic investment plan was, he received no answers that felt concrete. In your opinion, can the presence of the US balance the Chinese influence in Laos without economic investment? Why or why not?
4. Laos is the only country in Southeast Asia without a maritime border, yet it is a key player in the South China Sea conflict. Explain the political variables that allow for this. In your answer, consider the annual rotation of ASEAN Chairmanship and the power the Chair country holds.
5. What is China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, and how many countries does it involve? How does the initiative support China’s mission “to compete with the superpowers—the United States—at the international level,” as described by Yang?
6. What impact does Yang foresee the OBOR having on Laos’s natural resources? Address the financial impact, but also that on the environment.
7. What impact does Yang foresee the OBOR having on agriculture/land, access to food, and employment in Laos?
8. Describe the financial terms of the OBOR initiative in Laos. What is Laos’s equity stake in the $7 billion joint venture project? What problems could these financing terms cause? Include in your answer a discussion of the collateral that has been put up by Laos and the ramifications of defaulting on payments.
9. What is the role of Vietnam in Laos, as one of its largest investors and as a longtime ally? What historical ties do Dr. Jones and Dr. Yang discuss (defense, political party ties, leadership, etc.)?
10. Since its emergence in the year 2000 as the major investor in Laos, how has China affected Laos’s close relationship with Vietnam? How would you describe the balance of both economic and political influence that the countries are navigating?
11. Sketch a flowchart of how you envision Chinese “soft power.” What is being disseminated and projected, and to whom?
12. What predictions does Yang have regarding the future of economic development in Laos?
13. Research (make sure to use credible sources—FP, Quartz Africa, VoA have articles on the topic) and think about the term ‘debt (or debt-trap) diplomacy’. How has this term been used in the media? Who uses the term and about whom? What might this term be interpreted to insinuate about the agency (or lack thereof) of leaders entering into agreements with China? Share your opinions, as well.

Thailand has a unique social structure because it is a global South country which has never come under colonial rule, while emulating Western modernization. The result is a double structure, one part consisting of a precapitalist structure and the other comprising a hierarchy of social classes. On this episode, Dr. Boike Rehbein (Professor, Institute for Asian and African Studies at Humboldt-Universität, Berlin, Germany) sits down with Eric Jones, NIU Thai language professor Kanjana Thepboriruk, and Thai language professor emeritus John Hartmann to discuss the peculiarities of Thailand's social structure and the resulting inequality.

Please find below a link to “Inequality in Southeast Asia with a Focus on Thailand” in addition to questions that can be used to inspire discussion and writing.

1. Jones asks, “What is social inequality?” Dr. Rehbein’s answer initially focused on economic indicators, referencing World Bank reports as examples. Think through the following questions as you listen: What are some limitations on statistics published by agencies such as the World Bank? What information holes are left/what information is not being captured? Consider the ‘rich for a moment’ versus ‘rich for a lifetime’ contrast and what that can tell us about inequality.
2. In addition to economic indicators, what four other indicators—which capture social reality more comprehensively—does Rehbein use to measure inequality?
3. What is the difference between ‘social mobility’ and ‘economic mobility’? Give examples of each, both from the past and from the present.
4. Rehbein describes a system that stretched from northeast India to the Philippines, seen in all parts of Southeast Asia—except for pockets of Indonesia and Vietnam—called the Mandala system. What is the Mandala system, and how did it evolve?
5. Expanding on your answer to question 4, describe how the aspects of the Mandala system below were integral to its structure:  
6. Indigenous concentration of power and wealth (hierarchy creation)
7. Colonialism (society transformation)
8. Sketch a graphic representation of the power relationship possibilities in the Mandala system, showing oscillation and variance, based on Rehbein’s description.
9. What is baan muang? Why did Rehbein begin using the term in his research? Consider perspective, familiarity, and engagement.
10. How might language play a role in fortifying social inequality in Thailand?
11. When discussing his team, Rehbein speaks about “the hidden assumptions of locals being revealed,” as well as “the hidden assumptions of the Westerners,” by the “commission of misunderstandings” and the resulting conversations. Discuss the benefits—including both knowledge and social position-determined perspective—of a diverse international research team.
12. What is ‘habitus’? According to this discussion, how might we attempt to distinguish it from ‘habit’ or ‘habitude’?
13. Compare and contrast social mobility in Thailand, Laos, and at least one other Southeast Asian country mentioned in this episode. Consider the following:
14. structure stability
15. transformation—capitalist (and/or other); technological; and educational
16. What do you think is the main cause of social inequality, especially when we focus on the social structure of a particular society? Support your answer with quotes or ideas from this episode and with examples (from this podcast or from your own research).

See more teacher resource installments that correspond to insightful conversations with Southeast Asian experts, writers, artists and musicians recorded at NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Judith Butler’s 1990 work, Gender Trouble, has become canonical in gender and sexuality studies, but its impact in Southeast Asia is less well known. For scholars of Southeast Asian Studies, the fluidity of gender in Southeast Asia is permeating contemporary scholarship in new ways. Cornell University historian Tamara Loos and NIU Thai language professor Kanjana Thepboriruk sit down with host Eric Jones to discuss the impact of Judith Butler's work as a foundation to these rising, novel discussions concerning gender in Southeast Asia.

Educators, please find below a link to “Revisiting Gender in Southeast Asia,” as well as questions that can be used to inspire discussion and writing.

1. Before listening to this episode, take some time to get to know Judith Butler! Read this informal interview from The Cut, a New York magazine site: “Think Gender Is Performance? You Have Judith Butler to Thank For That,” paying special attention to mentions of her book, Gender Trouble, the topic of this episode’s conversation.
2. Southeast Asia (SEA) is unparalleled in its diversity, and as a region presents a unique set of attributes that researchers must contend with. How do each of the characteristics below manifest themselves as challenges (and potential limitations) for study?
   • Geography
   • Colonization
   • Contemporary political entities
3. Tamara Loos is a historian whose work has included gender and identity theory, with a focus on Thailand. Describe how this vast current research project, Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble in SEA, originated and what Loos’s approach will be.
4. The Western body of theoretical work on gender continually pulls case studies from SEA, yet in this episode, the speakers mention that gender in SEA isn’t often looked at directly by these same researchers. How does Tamara Loos’s current project allow for the possibility of a more direct approach? What opportunities may this research provide for academics within the region?
5. How might gender and sex as categories of analysis—the categories that Butler focuses on—limit and possibly occlude other significant factors when conducting research in SEA? Why does Loos ask us to consider status, class, and ethnicity as perhaps equally or more important categories when approaching gender studies in a historical context in SEA?
6. Expanding on your answer to Question 5, consider how Western SEA scholars (Southeast Asianists) can better approach gender studies in the region. What biases/theoretical and analytical blind spots need to be revisited? What is Loos referencing as “the most important interventions that Southeast Asianists can make” when looking at Judith Butler’s work?
7. In your own words, summarize some of the linguistic performance aspects of gender in Thailand, discussed in this episode. Consider referents, greetings and categories (changing categories, category options, etc.) as jumping off points.

The history of opium provides us a window into the ways that Southeast Asia in the late 19th and early 20th century was made: by the border crossing of ideas, people, disease, licit and illicit commodities, and by imperial attempts to control these borders. Join us as Anne Foster (Department of History, Indiana State University) discusses her new research on opium and transnational Southeast Asia.

Listen to “From Medicine to Drug: Border-crossing Opium” and see below questions that can be used to inspire discussion and writing.

1. Anne Foster introduces this project as an outgrowth of her first book. Before listening to this episode, take a few moments to imagine how the history of opium in Southeast Asia (SEA) naturally follows her earlier work on the interactions of colonial powers in SEA. Consider the following as starting points for the thought exercise:
2. Opium creates challenges for state powers.
3. People and ideas cross borders, too. Compare and contrast those crossings with that of a commodity.
4. How can border-crossing help develop notions of what a region might be?
5. Gather the basic information about opium in SEA in the late 1800s:
6. Where? (growing locations)
7. Who? (importers)
8. Why? (revenue uses)
9. How? (draw flow chart showing opium’s path from farm to user)
10. Uses? (not only recreational)
11. Expanding on your answer to “2.e. Uses” above, discuss how opium’s medicinal properties as a pain reliever, anti-diarrheal, and appetite suppressant made it especially useful and easy for colonial governments in SEA to exploit.
12. Anne Foster discusses the images surrounding opium from this time period: male, emaciated, languid. These images (nearly always posed by anti-opium activists, she tells us) insinuate the opium trade equated disenfranchisement and destitution. How do these images contrast with what we learn in this episode about the following?
    1. Revenue/financial bottom lines
    2. Precision of packaging, production, and distribution
    3. Legality and government control
13. Foster says that, often, rates of addiction are lower among users that live in the place of a drug’s origin; rates of addiction are even lower when—as was the case of opium in SEA for many years—consumption is embedded in social ritual. How was the element of safety that social practice and ritualization provided eroded by European attempts to regulate opium purchase and use in SEA?
14. “Opium has transnational politics,” says Foster, meaning that you cannot usefully discuss opium trade in one single country; you must consider its effects on the region. Discuss the transnational politics surrounding opium, focusing on the following:
    1. Smuggling and colonial government collaboration
    2. Politics of prohibition
15. Describe the massive campaign that activists in the United States launched against “intoxicants” in the Philippines.
16. How was economic development in the colonies dependent on and inextricable from opium?
17. Discuss the medicinal explanatory factors behind opium usage during the late 19^th What was its connection to the evolution of public health practices and opinions in SEA?

See more teacher resource installments that correspond to insightful conversations with Southeast Asian experts, writers, artists and musicians recorded at NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

When socialist restrictions on Cambodian Buddhism were loosened in the early 1990s, Cambodian monks began traveling to Sri Lanka and India, as well as other Buddhist countries, to study. Eventually, a pattern emerged of many young monks being supported by individual sponsors from Cambodia or, more commonly, the Cambodian diaspora communities of Europe, the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Anthropologist John Marston (Center for Asian and African Studies, Colegio de Mexico) offers an overview of the interrelated processes of religious and national identity formation taking place among Cambodian and South Asian actors.

Listen to “Transnationalizing Cambodian Buddhism” and see questions below that can be used to inspire discussion and writing.

1. While travelling in Sri Lanka, John Marston learned that Cambodian temples existed in the country. On one level, this made a lot of sense to him, since the countries share a majority religion. What religion is that, and why were Cambodian students traveling to Sri Lanka? Give at least two reasons.
2. The fact that Cambodian temples exist in India was “the more surprising case” to Marston, since less than 1% of India’s population identifies as Buddhist. Discuss how the following play into India-Cambodia linkages:
3. Pali and Sanskrit languages
4. Origins of Buddhism
5. Mention of sites in Buddhist scriptures
6. Ritual function/merit making
7. Theravada Buddhist plays a central role in Cambodian society. Describe monkhood expectations for young men. Consider age, duration, possible outcomes, and commitment in your answer. How does the picture you have painted of Cambodian monks possibly differ from what you know about monks in other parts of the world?
8. Listen carefully as Marston describes what happened to Buddhism in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, making notes of occurrences on the following dates mentioned (some dates have more than one event associated with it): 1970, 1975, 1979, 1989, 1991. Create a chronological storyboard, illustrating your vision of the events surrounding each date.
9. Although Marston says that Cambodia’s connection to India and Sri Lanka existed prior to the Khmer Rouge regime, his research looks at the relationships that developed around the time of the Paris Peace Accords (1991) and the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (1992-93). He mentions an influential Sri Lankan, Hema Goonatilake, among others, who worked to restore Buddhist institutions in Cambodia.
10. What was Goonatilake’s (and her colleagues’) strategy for establishing and attempting to strengthen ties with Cambodia?
11. What was the reasoning behind her strategy, and what (if any) were the advantages to Sri Lankans?
12. How do early Cambodian participants report feeling about their experiences in the efforts to forge strong ties with Sri Lanka and India? How do they remember these early experiments?
13. How have subsequent groups of monks experienced their time abroad in Sri Lanka differently from the initial groups? Consider changes to the selection process, language acquisition, vetting, educational opportunities, and retention rates in your answer.
14. Consider the following article from the Sept. 23, 2019 edition of the Tamil Guardian:

“Sri Lanka and Cambodia should ‘work together to spread teachings of Theravada Buddhism throughout the world,’ said Sri Lanka’s [then] president Maithripala Sirisena, whilst attending a Buddhist religious service in Phnom Penh last month. Sirisena, who has increasingly burnished his Sinhala Buddhist nationalist credentials, said Buddhism ‘is the historical foundation of the relations between Sri Lanka and Cambodia’ and called for closer ties between the two governments. During meetings with both the prime minister of Cambodia as well as the monarchy, Cambodia’s king said earlier that ‘Cambodia stands firmly together with Sri Lanka in further cementing bilateral relations in economic, trade, social as well as the renaissance of Buddhism.’”

1. Notice the phrase in the second paragraph, “who has increasingly burnished his Sinhala Buddhist nationalist credentials.” Spend a bit of time researching Sinhala Buddhist nationalism. Where, when, and why did this ideology originate? Why do you think it was important to the editor that this phrase be included? How might Sinhala Buddhist nationalism play into a symbiotic Sri Lanka-Cambodia relationship?
2. Notice the phrase in the third paragraph, “further cementing bilateral relations in economic, trade, social as well as the renaissance of Buddhism.” Spend some time looking into the two countries’ current relationship. Since fall of 2019, have there been any notable economic/trade agreements? Have there been any interesting meetings—official or not—between leaders of the two countries? How would you describe their purported joint effort in spreading the teachings of Theravada Buddhism and bolstering a Buddhist renaissance?
3. Follow this link to the United Nations “Cambodia - Resolutions of the Security Council - UNAMIC” page and select one document to read: (https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/mission/past/unamicres.html). Once you’ve read your UN document thoroughly, visit the “United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia” Wikipedia page and proof its information, as compared to the original document (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Transitional_Authority_in_Cambodia). How much can you corroborate comparing Wikipedia to the Unites Nations document you read? Can you find any discrepancies?

See more teacher resource installments that correspond to insightful conversations with Southeast Asian experts, writers, artists and musicians recorded at NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Southeast Asia Crossroads Podcast Teacher Resources, Prepared by Micah F. Morton

“Turning Land into Capital: Development and Dispossession in the Mekong Region”

The Mekong Region is an incredibly dynamic part of the world that is currently undergoing dramatic changes as part of what some scholars refer to as the last great state enclosure. Located at the crossroads of Southeast Asia and China, the Mekong Region – its lands, rivers, and communities - is playing an increasingly important role in nearly every aspect of life throughout Southeast Asia and beyond.

Join us as Dr. Michael Dwyer of Indiana University-Bloomington talks with NIU hosts Dr. Kanjana Thepboriruk and graduate students Thom Brown and Mitchell Rigert about state reversals of earlier agrarian reforms in the Mekong Region that have rolled back “land-to-the-tiller” policies created in the wake of Cold War–era revolutions. In the podcast, Dr. Dwyer discusses this trend, marked by increased land concentration and the promotion of export-oriented agribusiness at the expense of smallholder farmers, and exposing the convergence of capitalist relations and state agendas that expand territorial control within and across national borders. Here are links to the two books referenced in the talk: Turning Land into Capital: Development and Dispossession in the Mekong Region & Upland Geopolitics: Postwar Laos and the Global Land Rush.

Listen to “Turning Land into Capital: Development and Dispossession in the Mekong Region” and see the below questions to inspire class discussions and writing exercises.

1. What is “land grabbing”?

Have you heard the term before? Has it happened in your home community or country? What impacts does land grabbing have on the livelihoods of local communities, environmental sustainability, and food security more broadly? Read this brief essay and watch these short films (film one; film two) for an overview of land grabbing and its implications in the Mekong Region. Also see this short film focusing on a recent example of land grabbing in Myanmar connected to the creation of the Thilawa Special Economic Zone on the outskirts of Yangon.

2. Why is a regional approach important in examining the transformation of land into capital?

Dr. Dwyer drives home the importance of taking a regional approach to examining the transformation of land into capital throughout Southeast Asia and beyond. Why is that approach important and what does it tell us about land grabbing more broadly in and beyond Southeast Asia?

3. How are regional dynamics playing out in the Mekong Region?

What are the main roles that different countries, such as Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, are playing in relation to land grabbing? Which of these countries are playing a more prominent role as investors? Which countries are experiencing widespread land grabs through these investments?

4. Who are the different players in the land-grabbing phenomena?

Who are the different players in the land-grabbing phenomena discussed in the podcast? How do these players interact with each other? What roles, if any, do local actors, including small-scale farmers and government officials, play in the process?

5. What were Dr. Dwyer’s research methods?

What were Dr. Dwyer’s research methods? How did he gain access to the information discussed in the books and the podcast?

6. How have ideas and practices of land ownership changed in Southeast Asia?

How have ideas and practices of land ownership changed in different parts of Southeast Asia in the transition from historical kingdoms to modern nation states? What are the implications of these changing ideas and practices of land ownership for the current land grabbing phenomena occurring in the region?

7. What is land titling and its impact?

What is land titling? How does land titling work in the Mekong Region today? How does land titling impact relations within local communities and local communities' relations with outsiders, such as states and corporations? What are the pros and cons of land titling?

8. How have ideas about borders changed over time?

Dr. Dwyer references Dr. Thongchai Winichakul’s classic book Siam Mapped and the different understandings of “borders” and their demarcation that applied during earlier periods of history in Thailand and the larger region. How have ideas about borders changed over time and why? What implications do these changes have for the current phenomena of land grabbing and the related process of map-making?

9. What developments might help resolve the problems facing small-scale landholders?

Dr. Dwyer discusses recent developments in Laos and Cambodia that might help resolve some of the problems facing small-scale landholders in response to land grabbing. What are some of the developments he discusses and how might they help resolve these problems, if adequately implemented? What roles are certain foreign governments and international organizations playing in helping to resolve these issues?

See more teacher resource installments that correspond to insightful conversations with Southeast Asian experts, writers, artists, and musicians recorded at NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Southeast Asia Crossroads Podcast Teacher Resources, Prepared by Micah F. Morton

Tou SaiKo Lee: The Hmong American Experience

There are nearly 370,000 Hmong people living in the US today. While Hmong in the US have gained increasing visibility in recent years, many non-Hmong in the US continue to be either unaware or misinformed about the realities of Hmong Americans’ experiences and their important connections to the US-led “Secret War” in Laos (early 1960s-1975). As refugees of that war, Hmong Americans have experienced decades of poverty, discrimination, and the loss of their indigenous language and culture. At the same time, Hmong Americans have forged new lives and communities in the US. In recent years, a growing number of Hmong Americans have been (re)vitalizing their culture and language in ways that are backward looking and forward moving, creatively integrating the old with the new.

Background on Tou SaiKo Lee

One such person is Mr. Tou SaiKo Lee, an artist educator, hip-hop advocate, storyteller, scholar, and spoken word poet from St. Paul, Minnesota. He was born in the Nong Kai refugee camp in Thailand. For more background on Tou SaiKo and samples of his musical productions see:

• Facebook
• SoundCloud
• YouTube

It is also highly recommended to view Tou SaiKo’s 2021 Tedx Minneapolis talk “Reclaiming cultural identity and language through hip hop”. Educators may further supplement this podcast lesson with another more extensive teaching unit with three lessons focusing on “Southeast Asian Refugees in the U.S.,” with a specific focus on Hmong refugees.

Podcast Discussion

Join us as Tou SaiKo talks with NIU hosts Dr. Eric Jones and Dr. Kanjana Thepboriruk about his experiences as a Hmong American reclaiming and uniting the old and the new in his culture through hip hop. Listen to “Tou SaiKo Lee: The Hmong American Experience” and see the below questions to inspire class discussions and writing exercises.

Discussion Questions

1. What did you know, if anything, about Hmong Americans before listening to the podcast? How have your ideas changed since listening to the podcast?
2. Why are the Hmong in the US today? Where did they come from? How did they get here?
3. What do we learn about Tou SaiKo’s family history? What answer did he receive from his parents in response to the question “where did we come from?”
4. What role did Tou SaiKo’s grandmother play in his process of (re)awakening to his roots, to Hmong language and culture? How did Tou SaiKo’s “new” tradition of hip hop connect with his grandmother’s “older” tradition of Hmong song poetry? What does he mean by the term “fresh traditions”? Can you think of an example from your own culture? (Also see: “How Hip-Hop Brought A Young Hmong American And His Grandma Together”)
5. What led Tou SaiKo to want to (re)learn Hmong language? How did his experience (re)learning Hmong language help him (re)connect to Hmong culture and the larger Hmong community in and beyond the US?
6. What kinds of exchanges did Tou SaiKo have with other indigenous, minority, and refugee communities in Minnesota? How did those exchanges influence his own work to (re)vitalize Hmong language and culture?
7. Tou SaiKo often refers to the larger Hmong diaspora. What does he mean by the “Hmong diaspora”? Where are Hmong people found in the world today?
8. Tou SaiKo talks about his collaborations with his grandmother, interweaving his new hip hop style with her older Hmong song poetry or “kwv txhiaj”. What do we learn about the older tradition of Hmong song poetry? How and why has the tradition changed over time? Can you think of musical or song traditions from your own culture that have changed over time?
9. How has Tou SaiKo worked to reconnect with Hmong in Thailand? How does art and music figure into that work, especially the project “Street Stops and Mountain Tops”?
10. Throughout the podcast, Tou SaiKo stresses the flexibility, creativity, and power of hip hop to connect the past and the present, and different generations of Hmong. He especially stresses the power of hip hop to reach young people, especially those from disenfranchised and marginalized groups. What does he mean by this? Give specific examples from the podcast. Also, reflect on the various roles and ability of hip hop more broadly to speak to current social issues and reach young people. How might your teacher use hip hop in the classroom?

Additional Resources

See more teacher resource installments that correspond to insightful conversations with Southeast Asian experts, writers, artists, and musicians recorded at NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Southeast Asia Crossroads Podcast Teacher Resources, Prepared by Micah F. Morton

Living in Post-Coup Myanmar

On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military staged a coup d’état, overthrowing the country’s democratically elected government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD). The coup brought an abrupt halt to a decade long process of political reform and economic development. The coup was rejected by a majority of the civilian population and sparked widespread civil disobedience movements, protests, and armed resistance to military rule. Since the coup, it is estimated that at least 24,000 anti-coup protesters have been arrested and 4,000 killed. See these links for some background on the coup and developments in the country since the coup.

Podcast Discussion

Join us as MauMau (a pseudonym), an anti-coup protestor and refugee from Myanmar's February 2021 coup, talks with host Dr. Eric Jones of NIU’s History Department about his personal experiences living through the coup and being involved in the anti-coup protests. The interview occurred one year after the February 2021 coup. Listen to “Living in Post Coup Myanmar” and see the below questions to inspire class discussions and writing exercises.

Discussion Questions

1. MauMau is originally from Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city. Where is Mandalay located? Why is it important to Myanmar’s past and present?
2. In the interview, Dr. Jones notes that “MauMau” is a pseudonym. Why might “MauMau” want to have his identity protected given the podcast topic and current circumstances in Myanmar?
3. The February 2021 coup occurred shortly after Myanmar’s 2020 general election. What were the results of that election? What excuse did the military give for staging the coup? What does MauMau identify as the real reason behind the election results and the subsequent coup?
4. What were the circumstances under which MauMau and his friends learned of the coup?
5. How do the circumstances under which Myanmar’s February 2021 coup occurred compare and contrast with that of the United States’ Capitol insurrection just one month earlier in January 2021?
6. How did the military and anti-coup protestors use the media, especially social media, to promote their counter-positions?
7. When and how did anti-coup protests start in Myanmar? What role did MauMau and his siblings and friends play in relation to the protests in Mandalay? What factors contributed to the expansion of the anti-coup protests throughout the country?
8. What were the hopes of anti-coup protestors with respect to the international community? What kinds of strategies did the protestors adopt in order to speak to an international audience?
9. In what ways did the anti-coup protestors revise their strategies once they began to encounter physical violence from the military? How effective were their strategies? What roles did women’s undergarments and longyi (or long skirts) play in these strategies and were they effective?
10. Around 35 minutes into the podcast, MauMau talks about his and his family’s experiences in Myanmar before, during, and following the coup. How have his experiences been shaped by the fact that he belongs to an ethnic minority? Give specific examples. How did his family ties and responsibilities influence his and his family’s involvement in the anti-coup protests?
11. Dr. Jones (@ 46 minutes) comments that while Myanmar has historically experienced inter-ethnic conflicts and tensions, especially between the majority Burmans and minority non-Burman ethnic groups, the coup has in some ways encouraged greater inter-ethnic solidarity throughout the country in opposition to the military. MauMau agrees. How and why exactly does MauMau say that this is one of the very few positive developments to come out of the coup?
12. How have MauMau’s experiences during and after the coup in Myanmar impacted his experiences more recently in the US as a refugee?
13. What are MauMau’s conclusions about the coup, the anti-coup protest, and the future of Myanmar? What is currently happening in the country? How can you stay updated on the situation? How can you help bring attention to the situation? How can you get involved?

Additional Resources

See more teacher resource installments that correspond to insightful conversations with Southeast Asian experts, writers, artists, and musicians recorded at NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Southeast Asia Crossroads Podcast Teacher Resources, Prepared by Micah F. Morton

Crypto-Nationalism in the Akha World of the Upper Mekong Region w/ Micah Morton

There are over 476 million Indigenous people living in different parts of today’s world. Roughly two-thirds of them live in different parts of Asia. Indigenous people face many challenges due to their historical and ongoing experiences of external and internal colonialism. During the modern nation state period, many Indigenous Peoples have had their ancestral territories colonized and arbitrarily divided into two or more distinct countries, further dividing their people and posing challenges to their efforts to maintain their distinct cultures and languages within and across national borders.

The Akha and Their Challenges

The Akha are one Indigenous group facing these challenges. The Akha are a stateless, kinship-based society of some 730,000 people living primarily throughout the mountainous borderlands of north Thailand, east Myanmar/Burma, southwest China, northwest Laos, and northwest Vietnam. While they are at present a minority in all these countries, Akha archaic oral texts reference a time in the distant past when they established their own homeland city-state, referred to as Jadae Mirkhanq, in the center of the Yuanjiang Valley of the Red River between roughly 1054 C.E. and 1274 C.E. It was after Jadae's fall due to Mongol invasions that the contemporary Akha diaspora came about, as Akha began a long history of migrations south into various parts of the Upper Mekong Region that were later transformed into nation-states dominated by non-Akha. While most Akha at present are Animists whose religio-cultural practices center on Ancestral Services and rituals revolving around the cultivation of rice, since the late 1980s and especially the early 2000s, a growing number of Akha in the region, especially in Myanmar and Thailand, have converted to different denominations of Christianity, and, to a lesser extent, Buddhism.

Dr. Micah Morton’s Research

Join us as Dr. Micah Morton of Northern Illinois University talks with NIU host Dr. Eric Jones about the work of certain ethnic Akha elite to promote a pan-Akha identity among their ethnic kin residing throughout the Upper Mekong Region. The region’s ongoing transformation from battlefields to markets is being accompanied by the growth of more formal transborder ties among a number of non-dominant ethnic groups, such as the Akha, Dai-Lue, Lahu, and Hmong. Since the late 2000s, a network of self-declared “Neo-Traditionalist” Akha elite based in the Thai-Myanmar borderlands has been recrafting the religio-political borders of belonging in a larger “Akha World” in the making that encompasses multiple local, national, and regional borders.

Podcast Discussion Questions

1. What did you know, if anything, about Indigenous Peoples before listening to the podcast? And the Akha? What were the sources of your knowledge about Indigenous Peoples/Akha? How did your ideas about Indigenous Peoples/Akha change after listening to the podcast?
2. Who are the Akha people? Where do they primarily reside? What kinds of livelihoods do they mainly engage in? What are some of their cultural traditions? How do Akha positions differ from one country to another in the region?
3. How is the Akha language being impacted by the region’s borders? What challenges do Akha face in maintaining their mother tongue? How are certain Akha working to overcome these challenges?
4. How did Dr. Morton come to this particular research topic? Who helped to guide him in this direction? What were his main research methods? What kinds of challenges did he face in attempting to study a movement taking place across the borders of four different nation states?
5. What are some of the main factors dividing Akha in the Upper Mekong Region today? How are certain Akha working to overcome these divisions? What challenges are they facing in their unification efforts?
6. How has Christianity impacted and transformed today’s Akha World? What kinds of roles have foreign Christian missionaries played in relation to Akha language and culture? In addressing these questions, does it make sense to focus on either Christianity in the singular or on different denominations and factions of Christianity (in the plural)?
7. What do we learn about the traditional Akha naming tradition? How are Akha children traditionally given their names? How does the tradition compare or contrast to that of your family/community? (For a powerful illustration of how the Akha naming tradition connects Akha to the past and present, watch Virtual Borders sequence 41:20-44:10).
8. In the talk, Dr. Morton uses the term “neo-traditionalism” to refer to the work of certain Akha to modernize their ancestral traditions. What does “neo-traditionalism” mean in this context? What are the different concerns motivating Akha to modernize their ancestral traditions, especially in terms of Akha language and culture?
9. Dr. Morton notes that since the 1980s a growing number of Akha in the region have relocated from rural upland villages to different urban lowland towns and cities. What does this trend say about conventional divisions of the region and its peoples into the uplands and the lowlands? How has this trend of rural upland to urban lowland migration influenced the Akha neo-traditionalist movement?
10. How are the main cash crops of coffee, rubber, and tea connected to Akha neo-traditionalists’ work to modernize their ancestral traditions and promote Akha unity across borders?
11. Dr. Morton references Akha archaic oral texts at several points in the podcast. What is he referring to exactly? Why are these archaic oral texts important? How can they be compared and contrasted to formally written records of history?
12. Dr. Morton introduces the concept of “crypto-nationalism” to describe Akha elites’ work to modernize their ancestral traditions and promote Akha unity across borders. What does he mean by this concept? What examples does he give to illustrate different aspects of the concept? How does the concept of crypto-nationalism connect to and diverge from James Scott’s concept of “Zomia”?
13. How do Akha in different parts of the region view one another? For example, how do Akha in Thailand generally view Akha in China? And vice versa? What kinds of exchanges are taking place among Akha from different parts of the region?
14. What are 2-3 big ideas you are taking away from the podcast? What additional questions do you have about the Akha and their crypto-nationalist project?

Related Readings

• Haiying Li. 2014. “Neo-Traditionalist Movements: Akha Transformations of Aqkaqghanr in the Upper Mekong Region.” Social Sciences Academic Journal 26(1):119–46.
• Micah F. Morton. 2024. “From blood to fruit: Transcosmogenerational modernities in Akha Worlds of the Upper Mekong,” Anthropology and Humanism.
• _____. 2023. “The Buffalo Skin Written Word: The cultural politics of orality and the written word in mainland Southeast Asia,” South East Asia Research 31(1):1-18.
• _____. 2013. “‘If you come often, we are like relatives; if you come rarely, we are like strangers’: Reformations of Akhaness in the Upper Mekong Region,” ASEAS – Advances in Southeast Asian Studies 6(1):29-59.
• _____. 2010. “Negotiating the Changing Space of ‘Zomia’: A Preliminary Discussion on the Role of Language in Akha Identitarian Politics,” Rian Thai: International Journal of Thai Studies 3:97-133.
• Micah F. Morton, Jianhua Wang (Aryoeq Nyawrbyeivq) and Haiying Li (Miqsawr Pyawqganr). 2016. “Decolonizing Methods: Akha Articulations of Indigeneity in the Upper Mekong Region,” Asian Ethnicity 17(4):580-595.
• Jianhua Wang (Nyawrbyeivq Aryoeq) and Micah F. Morton. 2020. "Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Shifting State-Society Relations and Emerging Resource Frontiers in China's Southwest Borderlands," Asian Ethnology 79(2):333-355.

Additional Resources

See more teacher resource installments that correspond to insightful conversations with Southeast Asian experts, writers, artists, and musicians recorded at NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.