Early Burma Photographs at the American Baptist Historical Society Jackie Imamura Burma: Photos Unseen for Nearly a Century Extreme isolation, economic devastation, political repression, and rugged terrain have prevented an accumulation of photographic records in Burma (Myanmar) throughout the last century. Photos that were taken were often limited to urban and foreign perspectives, and tended to focus on a few stereotypical images such as the pagodas at Bagan and monks receiving alms. During the colonial era (1824-1948) the limited availability of cameras kept photography in the hands of a few elites. [1]  In the second half of the century, at a time when cameras became widely available around the world, Burma suffered from decades of military rule, poverty, and civil war. The country was largely cut off from the outside world. During the long socialist period (1962-1988), few foreigners were allowed in and those who left the country rarely returned. Economic collapse pr...

Modern Buddhist Conjunctures in Myanmar Cultural Narratives, Colonial Legacies, and Civil Society Juliane Schober Publication Year: 2011   For centuries, Burmese have looked to the authority of their religious tradition, Theravada Buddhism, to negotiate social and political hierarchies. Modern Buddhist Conjunctures in Myanmar examines those moments in the modern history of this Southeast Asian country when religion, culture, and politics converge to chart new directions. Arguing against Max Weber’s characterization of Buddhism as other-worldly and divorced from politics, this study shows that Buddhist practice necessitates public validation within an economy of merit in which moral action earns future rewards. The intervention of colonial modernity in traditional Burmese Buddhist worldviews has created conjunctures at which public concerns critical to the nation’s future are reinterpreted in ligh...