Center for Khmer Studies

25/09/2026

Rain Shadow Cultures: The Mekong Committee and the Taming of Cambodia’s Agrarian Engine 🌊

The Mekong River’s annual flooding has long shaped Cambodia’s agricultural fertility, fisheries, and ecological rhythms. But how did Cold War development efforts seek to reshape the river—and Cambodia’s agrarian landscape?

Join us for an upcoming online webinar featuring Thom Brown, CKS Dissertation Research Fellow and PhD Candidate, who will examine the Mekong’s role in Cambodia’s agrarian systems and the tensions between local understandings of water and Cold War development initiatives.

🎙️ Speaker: Thom Brown, PhD Candidate & CKS Dissertation Research Fellow
🎙️ Moderator: Prof. Magnus Fiskesjo
📅 Date: 2 October 2026, 8.30 am - 10.00 am (Cambodia Time)
💻 Format: Online Webinar via Zoom
🔗 Register to receive the Zoom link: [https://tinyurl.com/bddjh4cb]

We invite scholars, students, researchers, and anyone interested in Cambodia, the Mekong, environmental history, and Southeast Asian history to join us for this timely discussion.

23/09/2026

អបអរសាទរទិវាប្រកាសរដ្ឋធម្មនុញ្ញ!
២៤ កញ្ញា ១៩៩៣ - ២៤ កញ្ញា ២០២៦
សូមជម្រាបជូនសាធារជនឱ្យបានជ្រាបថា មជ្ឈមណ្ឌល និងបណ្ណាល័យយើងខ្ញុំ ឈប់សម្រាករយៈពេល ១ថ្ងៃ នៅថ្ងៃទី២៤ ហើយនឹងបើកដំណើរការជាធម្មតាវិញនៅថ្ងៃសុក្យ ទី២៥ ខែកញ្ញា ឆ្នាំ២០២៦ ។

Happy Constitution Day to all Cambodian people!
September 24, 1993- September 24, 2026.
CKS and its Library will be closed for a public holiday on Thursday, September 24, 2026. Normal operations will resume on Friday, September 25, 2026.

#2026

22/09/2026

Definitions of Nationalism and Identity in the World and Asia by Benedict Anderson

As part of our 🇺🇸 250 celebration, CKS is highlighting the work of scholars whose groundbreaking ideas have helped us understand nationalism, identity, and Southeast Asian societies.

Benedict Anderson (1936–2015) was an Irish-American political scientist and historian best known for his influential work on nationalism. He spent most of his academic career at Cornell University and was recognized worldwide as a preeminent scholar of Southeast Asian politics and the study of nationalism.

Anderson is particularly well known for his landmark book Imagined Communities, which transformed the way scholars think about nationalism and national identity.
CKS is honored to have published the Khmer translation of Definitions of Nationalism and Identity in the World and Asia, making Anderson's ideas on nationalism and identity more accessible to Khmer readers. The Khmer edition is now available for purchase at both CKS offices.

📖 Both the English and Khmer editions are available in person at the CKS Library and online through the CKS Online Catalog.

We invite scholars, researchers, students, and members of the public to visit the CKS Library or explore these publications through our online catalog.
🔎 Discover these publications and other resources in the CKS collection.

🇺🇸 America 250 | Celebrating ideas that connect people, cultures, and histories

15/09/2026

📢 Travel Grant Opportunity for Cambodian Researchers and Scholars!

If you are a Cambodian researcher or scholar invited to present your work at a regional conference, this opportunity may be for you!

Through the Cambodia Scholar Travel Grant, CKS provides support for travel and accommodation expenses for eligible conferences in Southeast Asia (up to USD 500) and the ASEAN+3 region (up to USD 1,000).

This travel grant is supported by the Australian Government (Australian Embassy, Cambodia) through The Asia Foundation's Ponlok Chomnes II: Data and Dialogue for Development in Cambodia program.

🔗 Check the eligibility requirements and application process through the CKS website: https://khmerstudies.org/programs/cambodian-scholar-travel-grant/

Please share this opportunity with researchers and scholars in your network!

📢 The Center for Khmer Studies (CKS) is pleased to announce a special travel grant opportunity for Cambodian researchers and scholars invited to present their work at regional conferences.

From May 2026 to February 2027, CKS will support an increased number of travel grant applications, helping cover travel and accommodation expenses for conferences within Southeast Asia (up to USD 500) and the ASEAN+3 region (up to USD 1,000).

This initiative is supported by the Australian Government (Australian Embassy, Cambodia) through The Asia Foundation's Ponlok Chomnes II: Data and Dialogue for Development in Cambodia program.

🔗 Learn more about the eligibility and application process here: https://khmerstudies.org/programs/cambodian-scholar-travel-grant/

15/09/2026

🇰🇭 Svay: A Khmer Village in Cambodia by May Mayko Ebihara 🇺🇸
For our America 250 celebration, CKS is highlighting the work of American scholars whose research has helped to document and deepen our understanding of Cambodian society.

May Mayko Ebihara (1934–2005) was an American anthropologist whose groundbreaking research documented everyday life in a Cambodian village before the decades of war and upheaval beginning in the late 1960s.
In 1959–1960, she lived and conducted fieldwork in Svay village in Kandal Province, documenting family and kinship, agriculture, religion, politics, and everyday social life. Her research became an extraordinary record of Cambodian village life and an important contribution to the study of contemporary Cambodian society.

CKS is honored to have published the Khmer translation of Svay: A Khmer Village in Cambodia, making this important work more accessible to Khmer readers. The Khmer edition is now available for purchase at both CKS offices.

📖 Both the English and Khmer editions are available at the CKS Library.
We invite scholars, researchers, students, and members of the public to visit the CKS Library in person to explore Svay and the many other resources on Cambodian history, culture, and society.

14/09/2026

🇺🇸🤝🇰🇭 Week Three Recap – Program Wrap-Up

From September 6 to 12, University of Chicago students completed the third and final week of “Cambodia: History, Tragedy and Renewal,” focusing on the social and environmental effects of Cambodia’s rapid economic development.

The week began in Kampot with a visit to La Plantation Pepper Farm. Students then attended a lecture on the social and ecological impacts of economic development before visiting Kamchay Dam to examine the effects of hydropower on river systems and local livelihoods.

A lecture on Cambodia’s changing agroecosystems was followed by a visit to Bokor Mountain and Bokor Hill Station, where students explored the surrounding landscape and remnants of French colonial architecture.

In Sihanoukville, the group examined the city’s rapid expansion and the role of Chinese foreign investment in its transformation, considering the resulting social and environmental impacts.

The final field experience took students to Chi Phat in the Central Cardamom Mountains. During an all-day jungle trek, they observed and discussed environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and pathways toward landscape and wildlife conservation.

The program concluded in Phnom Penh with final reflections and a departure dinner attended by students, instructors, and CKS staff.

11/09/2026

Explore the fascinating connections between Chinese migration, religious change, and political uprisings in Cambodia and Cochinchina during 1915–1916.
Discover how popular millenarian beliefs shaped interconnected rural uprisings across the Lower Mekong Marchland and challenged the authority of French colonial rule.

🎙 Featuring Dr. Haydon Cherry, historian of modern Southeast Asia and Vietnam, author of Down and Out in Saigon: Stories of the Poor in a Colonial City, and lecturer at Vietnam National University.
🎙 Moderated by Professor Magnus Fiskesjö, Professor of Anthropology at Cornell University.

📅 18 September 2026
⏰ 8:30–10:00 AM (Cambodia Time)
💻 Online via Zoom
🔗 Register to receive the Zoom link:
https://tinyurl.com/yc3wcysh

More information: https://khmerstudies.org/chinese-migration-religious-change-and-political-uprising-on-the-lower-mekong-marchland/

11/09/2026

Preserving 20th and 21st-century historical records before they fade.

CKS is proud to share the Modern Endangered Archives Program (MEAP) at the UCLA Library, supported by Arcadia.

MEAP provides grants to digitize, document, and make accessible vulnerable cultural heritage materials from around the world—ensuring that essential history, community voices, and local heritage are preserved for generations to come.

Applications open September 14, 2026
Preliminary Applications due November 16, 2026

Explore the program, view open collections, or learn more about funding opportunities for cultural archives:

https://meap.library.ucla.edu/meap/call-for-applications/

Our grants enable digitization and access to at-risk cultural heritage collections from around the world. Funding now available for digitization and documentation.

09/09/2026

CKS is pleased to share a testimonial video featuring Mr. Thy Dalin, a Fellow of the 2025 CKS Ponlok Chomnes Research Fellowship (PCRF) Program. In the video, he reflects on how the program strengthened his research capacity, supported his professional development, and contributed to Cambodia’s educational development through evidence-based research.

The PCRF Program aims to strengthen research capacity among graduate students and early-career researchers by equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to contribute meaningfully to Cambodia’s development in the social sciences and humanities.

The 2026 PCRF Program, the third cohort, is currently underway at the CKS located in Phnom Penh and will continue through mid-November 2026, bringing together emerging researchers committed to advancing knowledge and contributing to Cambodia’s development.

CKS implements the PCRF Program with funding from the Australian Government (Australian Embassy, Cambodia) through The Asia Foundation’s Ponlok Chomnes: Data and Dialogue for Development in Cambodia program.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1629958592045755

08/09/2026

🌿 Learning Beyond the Classroom!
From September 4–7, 2026, fellows of the CKS Ponlok Chomnes Research Fellowship (PCRF) Program took part in field trips to the CKS Library in Siem Reap, Boeung Thom Fishery Community, and Kbal Kla Forestry Community in Kampong Thom Province.

The fellows explored academic resources at the CKS Library and put their research skills into practice through interviews, oral history, ethnographic observation, and community engagement. They also had the opportunity to learn from and connect with members of the Kuy Indigenous community.

These experiences helped strengthen their research skills while deepening their understanding of local knowledge, communities, and practices.

The PCRF Program is supported by the Australian Government through The Asia Foundation’s Ponlok Chomnes II: Data and Dialogue for Development in Cambodia program.