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The Changing Historiographies of Laos: A Focus on the Early Period

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2004

Vatthana Pholsena
Affiliation:
The Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. e-mail: aripv@nus.edu.sg

Abstract

The narrative of the origins of the Lao people in contemporary Lao-language history books and textbooks is divided among divergent interpretations. The most popular reading is the ‘Ai-Lao’ version, an implicit response to Thai nationalist historiography. Marxist-Leninist-orientated historiography, by contrast, resembles the Vietnamese Communist narrative. As far as likely future trends are concerned, a journey back to the ‘roots’ seems ultimately to reveal the biography of a pre-modern spatial identity.

Type
Articles
Copyright
© 2004 The National University of Singapore

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