Score

This is kinda sad that all the books listed are western authors. Not that it is in and of itself bad or wrong. Just that the richness in thought from thinkers in Latin America, Africa, and Asia (especially India, Myanmar, and China) shouldn't be ignored. In this list, I see the general themes of cultural, political, and economic inequalities.

And if we were following these themes, there are abundance of Latin American scholars thinking/engaging/proposing new ways to engage with these ideas. For instance, Nestor Garcia Canclini's Hybrid Cultures (1995/2005) criticizes the purity of culture and proposes that the theories of "Hybridization" that have dominated the discussions among cultural sociologists and anthropologists (such as creolization, syncretism, etc). He argues that similar process can be empirically traced and studied when it comes to institutions, governance systems, etc in our "globalized" era.

The Divide is a great book! Hands down. Clear and concise.

But if we turn to studying the "Fates of Societies", Guns, Germs, and Steel is a bit dated now. Amitav Ghosh's incredible book on climate change, I think, is more suited for our time: The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (2016). Here, he is centering the impact of European colonization on the climatic castratopes on land and, hence, nations (which cannot exist without land). This book is thematically divided into three chapters: Story, History, and Politics. And each chapter draws from a particular discursive field of knowledge; he even talks about Myanmar and hypothesizes that taking advantage of oil reserves might begin from a small town in Rakhine. I think it should be a better book than Guns, Germs, and Steel (which is highly criticized nowadays for its dichotomous view of our complex past). And it falls into certain traps that we've seen classical economics/political science falls into where it objectifies the people, environment, and animals involved in our past.

I think the Great Derangement also does what the third book listed here might do as well. I haven't read this book. But ngl, it sounds bogus. Sounds like early 2000s universalizing of the globe ideas. I would discourage this book. If the teachers want the new PCPians to engage with history in a specific and concise (and creative/impactful way), I would encourage a Haitian anthropologist/historian, Michel-Rolph Trouillot (whose father was the head of Haitian new independent state that we still don't recognize as the first free state that is born out of a true self-determination process-unlike the Civil War, which is out of economic needs). His book called Silencing the Past (1995) has created its own theoretical framework to understand/study history in a much more radical way. Many anthropologists/historians have followed his direction in the past two decades since it came out. Also, The Art of Not Being Governed by James C Scott is also a fabulous book that is empirically grounded so close to Yangon. I'm sad I wasn't able to engage with this incredible text during my time at PCP.

And why not made the PCPians read the Vedas instead of the "Classic Fairy Tales"? For example, Bhagavad Gita is such an incredible text. But also, there are so many myths and fairy tales that exist in Myanmar that aren't properly engaged that we hear whenever we go on field trips. And instead of telling kids to "READ" before/during Bagan trip, engaging with the Nats in lectures and discussions would be very fruitful. It'd also provide some theoretical frames/analytical tools to study and grasp these subaltern topics. This is also a great way to include the thoughts and lives of the working class. A social theory from the subaltern, if I may borrow Spivak's words.

And I'll rest my case here. I hope the very best. With much love,
Saul

Paul Chan wrote: "This is kinda sad that all the books listed are western authors. Not that it is in and of itself bad or wrong. Just that the richness in thought from thinkers in Latin America, Africa, and Asia (es..."

Hey Paul,

Thanks for the amazing insight. I really did not expect someone would give a comment on this. Haha. I created the list for my sister, who is currently in PCP 18th wave, and thought that it would be really great for her and her classmates to have a list of books they had to read at PCP. Thus, one day they could look back and give constructive feedback or make insightful comments, just as you did. I do not think any of them are on Goodreads, so I will surely pass your message to them.

Warmly,
Saw Thinkar