Wednesday, September 25, 4:30 pm in the Rose Hills Theater
Panel Discussion "On the Afterlife of Genocide: A Community Conversation on Race, Sexuality, Migration, and Survival in Afterparties."
Join us for an insightful discussion over coffee and donuts on the lived experiences of the current generation of Cambodian Americans. Featuring an array of Asian-America scholars, community organizers, and educators, this panel draws on Anthony Veasna So's groundbreaking text, Afterparties, to explore issues of race, sexuality, migration, and modern violence. The dialogue will consider how stories and narratives across Cambodian America resonate with current events facing Asian Americans, as well as other marginalized peoples. By incorporating themes of generational trauma and cultural identity, this conversation aims to deepen our understanding of the complex realities faced by not only Cambodian communities in the United States, but all of us who are reckoning with the past, present, and future of genocide.
Wednesday, October 2, Friday, October 4, or Sunday, October 6
Reading and Writing Workshop: The Mystery of a Murderous Despot
As a part of the ID1 "Doing College" Workshop Series, Director of College Writing, Jenny Thomas, will co-lead a 90-minute interactive session with Associate Dean and Professor April Mayes (History) entitled "Reading Like a Writer: Noticing the Moves Scholars Make in Academic Writing."
Workshop overview:
Cambodia's Pol Pot led the infamous Khmer Rouge party in the 1970s and was responsible for the deaths of a staggering nearly 25% of Cambodia's population from malnutrition, disease, or politically motivated murder between 1975 and 1979. Participants in this workshop will explore the brief introductory chapter to Professor David Chandler's historical/political biography of this dictator, Brother Number One, examining the text as an example of scholarly writing within the fields of history and political science.
Chandler asks and workshop attendees will consider together:
- "Who was Pol Pot?"
- "What did he and his colleagues have in mind?"
- "What were the sources of the revolution and its extraordinary violence?"
- and perhaps the most puzzling mystery: Why, when interviewing people who knew this man--one of the most violent dictators in human history--was it so difficult to find anyone who would speak ill of him?
Writing about his encounters with individuals who had known Pol Pot in his childhood, during his years as a student and later school teacher, and even during his deadly political career, Chandler notes:
None of the people I spoke to--including several who live thousands of miles from Cambodia and whose families were savaged by the Pol Pot regime--were prepared to associate the person they had known with the horrors of the 1970s. Victins of Pol Pot's regime, they were unwilling to alter or deny their relatively pleasant recollections of the man.
To his brother and sister-in-law, for example, Saloth Sar [Pol Pot'] was a sweet-tempered, equable child....Among his students and his colleagues in the clandestine Communist movement... a man who met him in the late 1950s, for example, said, 'I saw immediately that I could become his friend for life.'
Similar testimony has emerged in confessions from S-21 [a Khmer Rouge torture facility].. and Red Khmer defectors.... None of the defectors, although they were free to do so (as those being tortured at S-21 were not), singled out Pol Pot's behavior or personality as a reason for...deserting the Communist movement. Instead, most of them came away with memories of a man they regarded almost as a saint.
Focusing on these unnerving and deeply thought-provoking questions, we'll explore the "moves" this text makes as a piece of scholarly writing, considering what it can teach us about reading strategies and discovering how we can use our reading in college to hone our academic writing skills and strategies.
The workshop will be offered three times, and all attendees will receive an entry in the CSWIM Fall 2024 special events raffle or prizes ranging from 2 Disneyland tickets to restaurant and movie gift cards, Zip Car rental credits, beautiful Cambodian art prints, CSWIM swag and more (drawing at the Long Night Against Procrastination write-in on Sunday, November 24.)
- Wednesday, October 2, 5:30-7 pm in the Frank Dining Hall Blue Room (with special guest, Professor April Mayes from the History department)
- Friday, October 4, 2-3:30 pm in the CSWIM (with snacks)
- OR Sunday, September 29, 11 am-12:30 pm in the CSWIM (brunch served: waffles, bagels, fruit, juice, coffee, and tea)
RSVPs are appreciated but not required.
Friday, October 18, 1-3 pm in the CSWIM (SCC 148)
Generative Creative Writing Workshop with local author, Neelanjana Banerjee
Limited to 16 participants!
In this 2-hour creative writing workshop, we'll use stories from Anthony Veasna So's Afterparties as inspiration for our own writing. Along with So's incredible characterizations of the experience of inheriting the trauma of genocide, we'll investigate his brilliant use of POV ("Three Women of Chuck Donuts" and "Superking Son Scores Again") and explore writing about ritual, superstition, and celebration ("Maly, Maly, Maly", "The Monks", and "We Would Have Been Princes!").
Facilitator:
Neelanjana Banerjee is a writer whose work appears in journals like Prairie Schooner, Weird Sister, and Virginia Quarterly Review. She is a co-editor of Indivisible and The Coiled Serpent. With an MFA from San Francisco State and a BA from Oberlin, Banerjee has been a resident at Hedgebrook and received scholarships to attend writing workshops. Her journalism has appeared in Teen Vogue and other publications. Based in Los Angeles, she is the Managing Editor of Kaya Press and teaches writing at UCLA.
Not only limited to fiction, this workshop is designed to be generative across genres (poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction). The workshop is limited to 16 participants.
Pomona CSWIM Afterparties Tie-in Film Series
Tuesday, October 22, 8-9:30 pm in the Rose Hills Theater: "The Donut King" documentary.
Enjoy coffee, tea, and treats from the best-kept secret local Cambodian-owned donut shop, Upland Donuts, as we follow the fascinating rise and tragic fall of Cambodian immigrant and donut magnate Ted Ngoy, the man behind the fact that 90% of independent donut shops in California are owned by Cambodian-American families. This classic rags-to-riches American story (with a glazed twist!) is a compelling look at one segment of the Asian-American immigrant community, the legacy of the Cambodian genocide, small business entrepreneurship, family, and the promise and perils of "the American dream." Watch the trailer.
Thursday, October 31, 6:30 - 8:30 pm in the Rose Hills Theater: "Nang Nak," a classic Thai horror film from the country known for producing many of the best scary movies in Asia.
In the third short story in Afterparties--"Maly, Maly, Maly"--17-year-old Maly, who lost her mother to suicide, vividly remembers this film for its portrayal of a "badass" mother who gets revenge on everyone who wronged her. The movie tells the tale of teenage "Nak"--a devoted ghost wife and mother--and her unsuspecting husband, who returns from war to his wife, unaware that she died in his absence and is now a haunting spirit. A tale of love and tragedy that crosses the barrier of life and death, this 1999 thriller is based on a supposedly true story that has become one of the most popular ghost tales. Join us on Halloween evening for popcorn and one of the highest-grossing films in Thailand's history. Watch the trailer
Tuesday, November 19, 6:30-8:30 in the Rose Hills Theater: "The Killing Fields"
This 1984 biographical drama portrays the experiences of two journalists--Cambodian Dith Pran and American Sydney Schanberg--attempting to document the deadly actions of the Khmer Rouge regime during the 1970s Cambodian genocide. The film was nominated for seven Oscars, including "Best Picture," and won "Best Cinematography," "Best Editing," and "Best Supporting Actor" for Cambodian newcomer Haing S. Ngor. It was also awarded "Best Film" and "Best Actor in a Leading Role" at the 38th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs.) Watch the trailer.
Date(s) and location TBD: "I Told Sunset About You" Queer Asian Miniseries
Winner of the "International Drama of the Year" at the 2021 Seoul International Drama Awards, this critically acclaimed Thai queer coming-of-age miniseries tells the story of two boys, Teh and Oh'Aew, growing up in a Chinese-Thai community on the southern island of Phuket. Initially, they are close childhood friends, but the two fall out, leading to total estrangement. When they meet again as teenagers, both striving to be accepted into the best Communication Arts college program in Thailand to fulfill their mutual dream of becoming actors, they turn into rivals. This poignant enemies-to-lovers tale highlights friendship, family, and coming to terms with queer identity in the context of a traditional Asian community. Watch the trailer.