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Images and Agendas: Shan Elite Participation in British Colonial Photography during Late-Nineteenth-Century to Mid-Twentieth-Century Burma

Fri, April 1, 10:30am to 12:30pm, Washington State Convention Center, Floor: 2nd Floor, Room 213

Abstract

Under British colonization, Burma (now also known as Myanmar) was regarded as part of the British-Indian empire extending from India. Other areas apart from Burma proper where different ethnic groups resided were then regarded as “Frontier Areas”. The Shan States were among them.
To western eyes at that time, this part of the British empire was a mystery and there was a thirst for knowledge. The need to capture new information about these lands resulted in numerous academic works, journals, gazetteers, reports, as well as picture books serving as means to allow westerners to familiarize themselves with this heretofore unknown territory. In many of these records, when the subject of Shan States was mentioned, pictures of Shan elites were often presented along with those of other subjects of interest such as crafts, professions, dwellings, geography, etc.
Were these pictures of the elites publicized by the British merely to provide information about this exotic land? Or was there an underlying motive to portray the regality of ruling power that still prevailed the Shan States? This paper will investigate and form a hypotheses around two key questions: 1) To which extent were the Shan elites aware of how their photographs were exploited? 2) Did they intentionally allow it as a tool to project their civilized existence and to differentiate them from the Burmese and other ethnic minority groups? Analysis will include examples of well-known published materials containing photographs, as well as other contemporary documents that refer to them.

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