We've compiled these resources to provide context for and extend the book. Follow CSWIMstagram and check back on this page for updates about tie-in events on campus during Fall and Spring 2024.
History and political context
Learn about the Cambodian genocide and the history behind the wave of Cambodian immigration to the US
Legacy of trauma
"How Parents' Trauma Leaves Biological Traces in Children"
Cambodian poetry, dance, and music
Read Cambodian poetry (more Cambodian poetry here once you have library.claremont.edu access)
Instagram account of the Longbeach, CA Cambodian Performing Arts Center
Khmer Classical Dance: YouTube videos
- Cambodia's first LGBTQ dance company
- The magic of Khmer classical dance: “The Khmer word for art means ‘magic’... the artist, then, is nothing short of a magician!”
- The 1000-year-old Dance Tradition the Khmer Rouge Nearly Killed
Khmer Original Music movement
- Cambodian-American artist Laura Mam
- "How a music revolution changed the Cambodian narrative"
Interviews with the author’s family and friends, podcast clips, and other articles
“A Young Literary Star Makes His Posthumous Debut with ‘Afterparties’”: National Public Radio tribute to Anthony Veasna So
"Before my Boyfriend Died Suddenly, We Were Two Writers in Love": BuzzFeed piece by Alex Torrez, Anthony's partner
"Straight through Cambo Town" So reading an excerpt from his new book
Good Reads Virtual Book Club discussion of Afterparties (Stockton-San Joaquin Public Library, includes an overview of each chapter of the book)
“Conversations with Authors” Panel discussion
Host: Nick Mitchell. Samantha So Lamb, Anthony’s sister. Alex Torres, Anthony’s partner and the moderator. Mira Jacob, novelist, memoirist, and So's former professor. Monica Sok, Stanford grad and friend of Anthony’s, who taught poetry to SE Asian refugee youth together with him. Bryan Washington, creative writer and multi-award winner whom Anthony admired.
Documentaries and films
Links to the films below will work for any 5Cs student with a Claremont Colleges library login.
Donut King documentary: Of the 5,000 independent donut shops in California, 90% are owned by Cambodian Americans. This compelling documentary explores why and tells the immigrant story (with a glazed twist!) of Ted Ngoy, a pioneer of Cambodian American entrepreneurship who sponsored hundreds of Cambodian refugee families and built a donut empire.
- YouTube trailer
- Inside Edition (3.5 min overview of the documentary):
- BBC article about Ted Ngoy
The Killing Fields film (trailer): 3-time Academy Award-winning film
More about the book from the '23-'24 first-year class president
All incoming students with a permanent U.S. address should have received a copy of the book in the mail. Students living abroad will receive access to a digital copy but can claim a physical book when they arrive on campus in August.
2023-2024 Orientation Book Committee
Colleen Rosenfeld, associate professor of English, committee chair
Malte Dold, assistant professor of economics
Thomas Flaherty, John P. and Magdalena R. Dexter Professor of Music
M. Bilal Nasir, assistant professor of Asian American studies
Sara K. Olson, associate professor of biology
Frederike von Schwerin-High, professor of German and Russian
Josh Eisenberg, associate dean of students/dean of campus life