Angkor Wat: A Transcultural History of Heritage ~ Volume 1: Angkor in France. From Plaster Casts to Exhibition Pavilions. Volume 2: Angkor in Cambodia. From Jungle Find to Global Icon, Michael Falser (de Gruyter, December 2019)

Phuong Phan
26 May 2020

A feast for the eyes of general readers as well as specialists are the approximately 1,400 illustrations of historic photographs, architectural plans and samples of public media,

His recent book, Angkor Wat: A Transcultural History of Heritage, focuses on the modern history of Angkor Wat, with the objective of dismantling the European narratives of cultural heritage-making dating from the 19th century. Heritage, however, is never divorced from politics and hence is a complex and sensitive topic, once which inherently raises critical questions about the cultural-political practices of UNESCO and other specialized agencies, particularly in developing countries.

Falser critically deals with Angkor Wat as a product of “transcultural entanglement”: its history since the French colonization in Indochina is layered by transcultural encounters between the actors involved, from French ethnographers, archaeologist, museum directors and other European interest e.g. Poland and later individual actors on UNESCO’s side. For the most part, as Falser mentions, they framed their heritage claims over Angkor as “international help”.

The second volume sets Angkor Wat as an object of contention in the geopolitical conflict between the East and the West in Southeast Asia and further explores its transformation from French cultural heritage to Cambodian national symbol and later fiercely contested as a global icon by other national powers—on-site in Cambodia. In this way, Falser reveals various inheritance claims over Angkor, put forward by local agencies and by international interventions. According to his research, the modern history of Angkor was constantly not so much used but “(ab)used for identity construction by the actual ruling powers”, since the French entrance and increased between 1979–1989.

full https://asianreviewofbooks.com/content/ ... el-falser/