Margaret B. Bodemer, Lecturer

Fields

  • East Asian History
  • History of Anthropology, Social Sciences and Race
  • Modern China, Korea, Japan and Viet Nam
  • Museums, Memory and Cultural Heritage
  • Public History
  • U.S. History
  • World War Two (esp. Asia and the Pacific)

 

Contact Info

 

Education

  • Ph.D., Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i Mānoa
  • M.A., Anthropology, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
  • B.A., International Studies & History, University of Washington

Courses Taught

  • HIST 206 U.S. Cultures
  • HIST 310 East Asia Cultures and Civilizations
  • HIST 316 Modern East Asia
  • HIST 319 Modern Southeast Asia
  • HIST 409 Vietnam at Home and Abroad
  • HIST 419 Modern Southeast Asia
  • HIST 440 Topics and Issues in U.S. History
  • HIST 443 Topics and Issues in Asian History
  • HIST 477 Topics and Engagements in Public History: Museums, Memorials and Politics

Special Projects

  • Cal Poly Global Programs in Japan and Korea (2025)
  • Cal Poly Global Programs in Vietnam (2019)

Research and Teaching Interests

I am an interdisciplinary scholar with training in Asian Studies, Anthropology and History. I have conducted ethnographic and historical research on the following topics: cultural heritage, popular religion, museums, history of anthropology, history of race and war memory. A theme connecting my varied interests is a fascination with how people's perceptions of the past inform them and how these change across time and place. My broader interests revolve around culture, history and language. I have lived in many places and have cultivated a deep love of learning and an ability to adapt. In my classes I encourage students to explore different points of view and question what they think they know.

Grants, Honors & Awards

  • Program Development Grant, International Programs, Cal Poly
  • Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad, for Vietnam
  • Foreign Language & Area Studies
  • John F. Embree Fellowship

Selected Service Activities

  • Manuscript Peer Reviewer for Journal of Heritage Studies, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Journal of Material Culture, Journal of Heritage Studies, The Public Historian
  • Phi Alpha Theta advisor, Alpha Nu Gamma Cal Poly Chapter
  • The Literacy Connection, SLO Public Libraries, tutor
  • Subject Matter Expert, “Carrying Culture: Viet Nam” course curriculum for the University of Hawaii Center for Southeast Asian Studies, K-12 professional development course
  • Chair, Viet Nam Studies Group, Association of Asian Studies, 2018-2021
  • Senator Representative for Part-Time Faculty, Cal Poly Academic Senate, 2016-2019
  • Faculty Advisor, Vietnamese Language and Culture Roundtable, 2016 to present, Cal Poly

Selected Publications (CV available upon request)

  • “Using Personal Narratives to Reposition and Reimagine “the Chinese American Experience” in American History and Culture.” Chinese History and Perspectives, San Francisco: Chinese Historical Society of America, 2018.
  • “Fieldwork On Two Wheels, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Enjoy the Ride” In At Home and in the Field: Ethnographic Encounters in Asia and the Pacific Islands. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2015.
  • “Making Ordinary People Actors in National History: ‘Hanoi Life under the Subsidy Economy,’” in Suomen Antropologi: Journal of the Finnish Anthropological Society, 35(2), p. 56-67, Summer 2010, University of Helsinki.
  • “Some Thoughts on Museum Anthropology at the VME,” In Faces, Voices, and Lives: My Experiences in Building a Museum for Communities by Nguyen Van Huy. Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers and Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, 2008.
  • “Rằm Tháng Bảy:” Offerings to Wandering Spirits in Contemporary Vietnam,” Asian Anthropology, v. 4 (2005), pp. 115-136.

Selected Talks

  • “Toward a More Inclusive History of World War Two on the Central Coast and Why Inclusive History Matters,” California State Parks, WW2 History Exhibition Opening, April 2022
  • “Telling Lives in Asian Studies: Auto/Biographical Narrative as Rhetoric, Technique, and Pedagogy,” Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting, Washington DC, March 2018
  • “Centering Southeast Asian Perspectives in the Teaching of Southeast Asia; A Methodology,” Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute 2017 Lecture Series, University of Wisconsin Madison, 2017
  • “Active Learning for the Intro to Cultural Anthropology Classroom,” in Panel: “The Crowd-sourced Classroom: Reasserting Relevance in Anthropological Course Design, Abroad and at Home.” American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, 2013
  • “Asia-Pacific Cultural Patterns: Vietnam and Polynesia,” Research report, Dak Lak Provincial Museum, Buon Ma Thuat (delivered in Vietnamese), 2007

Professional Memberships

  • Association of Asian Studies (AAS)
  • Vietnam Studies Group (VSG)
  • Society for East Asian Anthropology (SEAA)
  • American Association of Anthropology (AAA)

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