G.R.O.U.P. Apprenticeships Summer 2008

Seeking Justice and Accountability in Cambodia: Courts, Communities, and the Trial of Khmer Rouge Leaders

Faculty Sponsor: David Cohen (Rhetoric)
Student Apprentice: Peggy Wong

Although the genocide perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia occurred some 3 decades ago, it is only now that those “most responsible” are in the process of being brought to trial. The real challenges for this court, however, go well beyond convicting a handful of octogenarians for their role in the murderous events of 1975-79. Most international participants and observers agree that the most important thing this court could achieve is to contribute to the improvement of the domestic justice system in Cambodia and to the establishment of the rule of law. But in order for the Khmer Rouge trials to provide a model for the domestic judiciary and raise expectations about what a justice system should actually provide, it is necessary for the process to be both transparent and visible to the Cambodian public.

The Summer Apprentice will participate in the evaluation of a community outreach project that aims to make the proceedings before the Khmer Rouge Tribunal accessible and comprehensible to the general Cambodian populace. The project involves the production of films about the pre-trial phase and the trials themselves. The apprentice will participate in a countrywide evaluation of the impact of the 4-5 films made during the pre-trial phase. This evaluation aims to assess both the impact of the content of the films and the effectiveness of the dissemination effort in order to better prepare for the production and distribution of the 36 films that will be made after trials begin.

Hello Brazil: Folk and Popular Culture in 21st-Century Latin America

Faculty Sponsor: Candace Slater (Spanish & Portuguese)
Student Apprentice: Lynsay Richardson

The title “Hello Brazil” plays off the title of the 1979 movie classic, Bye Bye Brazil, a light-hearted and yet influential movie. It goes beyond current truisms that modernity has proven far less monolithic than the film suggests and that the terms “folk” and “popular” are multi-faceted inventions to examine the specific place or places of the seemingly archaic in 21st Latin America. To this end, it focuses on a part of the Northeast Brazilian interior called the Cariri after its original Indian inhabitants. This region’s richness of “traditional” expressive forms has often caused it to be hailed as the “true” Brazil.

The Summer Apprentice worked intensively with Professor Slater in preparation for this book project in both California and in Northeast Brazil, and with the Lira Nordestina, a cordel press in Juazeiro do Norte.