France and Indochina

Cultural Representations

Contributions by Lily Chiu, Nicola Cooper, David Del Testa, Tess Do, Penny Edwards, Marie-Paule Ha, Judith Henchy, Eric T. Jennings, Christopher L. Robinson, Carrie Tarr, Michael G. Vann, Julia Waters, Jane Bradley Winston, Jack Yeager Edited by Kathryn Robson, Jennifer Yee

Publication date:

28 April 2005

Length of book:

256 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

236x154mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780739108390

At the intersection of literary, cultural, and postcolonial studies, this volume looks at French perceptions of 'Indochina' as they are conveyed through a variety of media including cinema, literature, art, and historical or anthropological writings. The volume is long awaited, as France's memory of 'Indochina' is understudied compared to its relationship with its former colonies in West and North Africa. The book has contemporary urgency as the makeup of France's immigrant population changes and grows to include Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotioan populations.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Part 2 Monuments and Memory
Chapter 3 Taj Angkor: Enshrining l'Inde in le Cambodge
Chapter 4 Representing Indochinese Sacrifice: The Temple du Souvenir Indochinois of Nogent-sur-Marne
Part 5 Transport Networks
Chapter 6 Lines of Communication in: The Thematics of Direction and Strategies of Narration in Colonial Indochina
Chapter 7 Automobiles and Anomie in French Colonial Indochina
Part 8 Tropical Angst?
Chapter 9 Disturbing the Colonial Order: Dystopia and Disillusionment in Indochina
Chapter 10 Of le Cafard and Other Tropical Threats: Disease and White Colonial Culture in Indochina
Part 11 Women in and against Empire
Chapter 12 French Women and the Empire
Chapter 13 Vietnamese New Women and the Fashioning of Modernity
Part 14 Screening Indochina
Chapter 15 Camille's Breasts: The Evolution of the Fantasy Native in Régis Wargnier's Indochine
Chapter 16 Tranh Anh Hung as Diasporic Filmaker
Part 17 Writing Indochina
Chapter 18 From Incest to Exile: Linda Lê and the Incestuous Vietnamese Immigrants
Chapter 19 "Cholen, la capitale chinoise de l'Indochine française": Rereading Marguerite Duras's (Indo)Chinese Space
Chapter 20 Playing Hardball: Linda Lê's Les Trois Parques
Chapter 21 Jean Hougron's Indochina: Fantasy and Disillusionment

France and "Indochina" is a richly suggestive exploration of the cultural dynamics of an unduly neglected part of France's former colonial empire. Its interdisciplinary optic opens up many new perspectives on French Indochina and its postcolonial aftermath, throwing valuable light on a wide range of cultural forms, including architecture, literature and film.