Vientiane: Transformations of a Lao Landscape

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Vientiane's landscape narrates Lao history, urbanism, identity.

If you're intrigued by cities with layers of untold stories, "Vientiane: Transformations of a Lao landscape" offers a rare glimpse into the dynamic past and present of Laos' capital. It's an enlightening deep dive for anyone looking to understand the interplay between a city's architecture, its geopolitical significance, and the cultural identity of its people, far beyond the usual rural depictions of Laos. This book invites readers to explore urban narratives often left on the margins.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Vientiane: Transformations of a Lao Landscape

Regular price $70.90
Unit price
per
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ISBN: 9780415331418
Date of Publication: 2006-12-07
Format: Hardcover
Related Collections: History, Politics, Sociology
Goodreads rating: 4.0
(rated by 1 readers)

Description

Providing insights into this neglected Southeast Asian city, this interesting book interprets Vientiane's landscape - physical as well as imagined - as a reflection of key aspects of Lao geo-political history, the nature of Lao urbanism, and its critical relation to constructions of Lao identity in the contemporary period. It is argued that the patterns of change seen through Vientiane's past embody the key political and economic processes and transformations impacting on the people of Laos. The Lao urban past has rarely been an object of attention by scholars. Laos, in fact, is continually portrayed as a rural backwater, marginal to the dynamic trends affecting most of the Southeast Asian mainland. In contrast to these persistent and static portrayals of Laos as a tiny landlocked backwater, with no significant urban present or past, the authors aim to document, explain and evaluate the significance of the Lao urban landscape. Focusing on the theme of Vientiane's 'marginality' in its various forms, the book interprets this apparent marginality as a historically-produced phenomenon resulting from geo-politics dating from the pre-colonial period and extending into the post-colonial period. Drawing on a wide range of research materials, Vientiane is the first work of its kind on this ignored city.
 

Vientiane's landscape narrates Lao history, urbanism, identity.

If you're intrigued by cities with layers of untold stories, "Vientiane: Transformations of a Lao landscape" offers a rare glimpse into the dynamic past and present of Laos' capital. It's an enlightening deep dive for anyone looking to understand the interplay between a city's architecture, its geopolitical significance, and the cultural identity of its people, far beyond the usual rural depictions of Laos. This book invites readers to explore urban narratives often left on the margins.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.