The Golden Peninsula: Culture and Adaptation in Mainland Southeast Asia

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University of Hawaii Press, Dec 1, 1994 - Social Science - 384 pages
The Golden Peninsula: Culture and Adaptation in Mainland Southeast Asia has long been recognized as the best all-around introduction to the diverse cultural traditions found in Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. First published in 1977, it continues to offer useful insights to students and travelers to the region. In five well-defined and succinct chapters, Professor Keyes, a leading specialist in the field, offers a jargon-free, copiously annotated synthesis of knowledge about the cultural history of tribal, Theravada Buddhist, and Vietnamese societies. He combines analysis of traditional cultural practices with examination of cultural conflict in the colonial and post-colonial periods. The book remains unique in providing a detailed examination of urban life as well as of life in rural communities.
 

Contents

PRIMITIVE AND TRIBAL WORLDS AND THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS
11
DEVELOPMENT OF THERAVADA BUDDHIST CIVILIZATION IN MAINLAND SOUTHEAST ASIA
63
RURAL LIFE IN THE THERAVADA BUDDHIST SOCIETIES
111
TRADITION AND REVOLUTION IN VIETNAM
179
CITIES IN CHANGING SOCIETIES IN MAINLAND SOUTHEAST ASIA
257
LANGUAGE GROUPINGS IN MAINLAND SOUTHEAST ASIA
337
SIZE DENSITY URBAN COMPOSITION AND ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF POPULATIONS IN THE COUNTRIES OF MAINLAND SOUTHEAS...
341
INDEX
345
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About the author (1994)

Charles F. Keyes is professor of anthropology at the University of Washington and director of the Northwest Regional Consortium for Southeast Asian Studies.

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