An Overview of the History and Culture of Indochina. New Faces of Liberty Series.
Author(s):
Collins, William; Zellerbach Family Fund, San Francisco, Ca.; California Univ., Berkeley. Graduate School Of Education.
Format:
Book
Publisher:
1989.
Language:
English
Abstract:
Teachers who have classes with many Southeast Asian American students face the dual challenge of their own lack of knowledge about the cultural backgrounds of their students and of the students' often fragmentary understandings of their own war-torn cultures. This overview briefly describes the history and culture of Indochina to provide knowledge for the teacher and to encourage the teacher to stimulate the child's interest in his or her own culture. Central to understanding the complex populations of Indochina is recognizing the differences between highland and lowland peoples (the Hmong and Mien, for example, as opposed to the lowland Lao, Cambodians, and Vietnamese). A knowledge of the interactions between the peoples of Southeast Asia and the Europeans (particularly the French, the Chinese, and the Italians) is also necessary to an understanding of the present immigrant cultures. (SLD)