Writing the Postcolonial City: Phnom Penh and Modernity During Sangkum Reastr Niyum, 1955-1970
Writing the Postcolonial City: Phnom Penh and Modernity during Sangkum Reastr Niyum, 1955-1970 by Siti Galang Keo A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Peter B. Zinoman, Chair Professor Kerwin Klein Professor Penelope Edwards Summer 2019 Abstract Writing the Postcolonial City: Phnom Penh and Modernity during Sangkum Reastr Niyum, 1955-1970 by Siti Galang Keo Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Berkeley Professor Peter B. Zinoman, Chair This dissertation examines novels, essays, films and songs of the Sangkum Reastr Niyum period, 1955-1970, to explore the layers of meanings Cambodians held of Phnom Penh. After the Geneva Accords in 1954, Phnom Penh emerged as the capital city of a newly independent nation-state, the Kingdom of Cambodia. The city under French colonial rule was secondary to Hanoi and Saigon, but once Indochina dissolved, its population exponentially increased. Phnom Penh was at the center of Cambodia’s road networks, its banking system, and was home to the best universities and schools. The many jobs and opportunities attracted rural migrants to the city. The population boom was one of the many ways Phnom Penh transformed. Norodom Sihanouk, then the head of state, made Phnom Penh the epicenter of government modernization projects. Under his watch, the capital transformed from being a marshy, provincial hub into an exciting scene of cosmopolitan innovation. Urban Cambodians combined ideas from Le Corbusier with traditional Khmer architectural details to design their “modern” buildings.
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