Renaissance Scholars Exhibit: “Resilience in Conflict and Post-Conflict Transitions”

By: Jennifer Haydel, Guest Faculty Contributor

The Renaissance Scholars of the Germantown campus invite the college community to learn about Cambodian culture and history, the themes of identity and resilience, and peacebuilding’s many dimensions through an exhibit they have created. The exhibit will be displayed in the upper lobby of the High Technology Building May 1-May 6. We also invite you to join us for a special exhibit opening event from 6-8pm on May 1 in HT216.

The exhibit is inspired by discussions and readings students in the Renaissance Scholars Program have encountered throughout the Spring 2013 semester in Professor Rudin’s Modern Asia history course, particularly the themes in Vaddey Ratner’s powerful novel In the Shadow of the Banyan.

Ratner’s novel explores her experience surviving the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. Her novel depicts the resilience found in art, religion, and poetry, the historical and political structures that allowed the Khmer Rouge to come to power, and the importance of the environment to the creation of conflict and to the building of peace.

This project has been funded by the Public Education for Peacebuilding Support Initiative of the United States Institute of Peace and supported by the Montgomery College Germantown Library, the Athenaeum Symposia, and the Renaissance Scholars Honors Program.

For further information, please contact Jennifer Haydel, Jennifer.haydel@montgomerycollege.edu or 240-567-7756.