Information Session on the New September Program in Cambodia

UChicago College students are invited to join Naira Ovsepyan (Study Abroad Senior Program Manager) and Alan Kolata (Bernard E. and Ellen C. Sunny Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Anthropology; Committee on Southern Asian Studies; Committee on Environment, Geography and Urbanization) for an information session about the new Cambodia September Program. Refreshments provided!

Cambodia: History, Tragedy, and Renewal (September Course)
ANTH 21271-99; Equivalent Course CEGU 21271-99

The College’s September course in Cambodia provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to explore archaeological, historical, and environmental sites and landscapes that shaped the course of Khmer civilization—in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and beyond.

Based first at Wat Damnak, a tranquil, historically significant Buddhist monastery that houses the campus of the Center for Khmer Studies (CKS) in Siem Reap, Cambodia, we will explore the history, politics and culture of Khmer civilization from the 10th century to the present. Our focus will be on three exceptional periods in the history of Khmer civilization: the cultural florescence of one of the largest indigenous empires of Southeast Asia with its capital at the World Heritage Site of Angkor; the tragedy of repeated Western intervention and the emergence of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime in the mid-1970s that resulted in the deaths of 1.7 to 2 million Cambodians; and the contemporary moment of renewal in the form of modernization, accelerating economic development, globalization and the social and environmental impacts of hyper-capitalism.

Over the course of three intensive weeks, we will frequently travel outside the classroom on excursions to explore archaeological, historical, and environmental sites and landscapes that shaped the course of Khmer civilization.

Applications for September 2026 are due on February 9.

Visit the Cambodia program page for more information.