George Chigas is an American writer, scholar and expert on

Cambodian Cambodian usually refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Cambodia ** Cambodian people (or Khmer people) ** Cambodian language (or Khmer language) ** For citizens and nationals of Cambodia, see Demographics of Cambodia ** Fo ...

culture and the crimes of the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...

. He is currently an associate teaching professor in the World Languages and Cultures department at the

University of Massachusetts Lowell The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of Massachusetts public u ...

Early life and education

Chigas graduated with a B.A. in

Classical Studies Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

from

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

in 1980. Subsequently he obtained an M.A. in Asian Studies from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1997 and a PhD in Southeast Asian Languages and Cultures from the University of London SOAS in 2002.

Career

Following his B.A., in the late 1980s, Chigas worked at Lowell's International Institute and subsequently with a refugee processing center in the Philippines and in different refugee camps along the Thai/Cambodian border. Chigas was the Associate Director of the Cambodian Genocide Program at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

from 1998-2001. Working on the program he was involved in collecting evidence against

leaders, who were later put on trial in

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

. In 2009 Chigas worked on a project with the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports to publish the first nationally used textbook on the Khmer Rouge. In 2010 he was named lecturer in the Cultural Studies Department at

UMass Lowell The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of Massachusetts public ...

, where he had served as visiting professor before.

Political commentator

Chigas is regarded an expert and noted political commentator on Cambodian culture and on the crimes of the

that took place in

during the 1970s. He has spoken out on the regime's crimes in their time and today still is requested for statements in public news outlets on different issues regarding Cambodia, its people, culture and related issues.

Works

Literature

He completed an English translation of the Cambodian verse novel ''The Story of

Tum Teav ''Tum Teav'' ( km, ទុំទាវ ; meaning "Tum and Teav") is a mid-19th century Cambodian romantic tragedy folk tale. It is originally based on a poem and is considered the "Cambodian Romeo and Juliet" and has been a compulsory part of the ...

'', and is co-author with Susan Cook of "Putting the Khmer Rouge on Trial", which appeared in the ''

Bangkok Post The ''Bangkok Post'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. It is published in broadsheet and digital formats. The first issue was sold on 1 August 1946. It had four pages and cost one baht, a considerable amount ...

'' on October 31, 1999. Other works include:

Books

* Cambodia's Lament: A Selection of Cambodian Writing

Articles

* The politics of defining justice after the Cambodian genocide, Taylor & Francis, Journal of Genocide Research * Cambodia's lost literary life, Mekong Review (2016) * Bearing witness to Cambodia's horror, 20 years after Pol Pot's death (2018)

Photography

Chigas created The George Chigas Collection, a small collection of photographs featuring Cambodian sites and ceremonies in the city of Lowell,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, and has also displayed photos of Cambodia.

Personal life

George Chigas is married to Thida Loeung with whom he has two children. He's an American who speaks Khmer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chigas, George Cambodian literature Translators from Khmer Living people University of Massachusetts Lowell faculty American male poets American translators Year of birth missing (living people) Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni Cornell University alumni Alumni of SOAS University of London Yale University faculty Political commentators Place of birth missing (living people)