Thai Studies

InTheNewSiam_Bangkok Report_AiA_6.10

by Gregory Galligan

Thai Pavilion

by Gregory Galligan

Where health and beauty meet: Femininity and racialisation in Thai cosmetic surgery clinics

by Aren Aizura

Asian Studies Review 33:3 (2009), 303—317.

Feminine Transformations: Gender Reassignment Surgical Tourism in Thailand

by Aren Aizura

Medical Anthropology: Cross-Cultural Studies in Health and Illness 28: 4 (2010), 424-443.

The Romance of the Amazing Scalpel: 'Race', Labor and Affect in Thai gender reassignment clinics

by Aren Aizura

In Peter A. Jackson, (ed), Queer Bangkok. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2011. Page proofs only.

"Where you go?": Teaching Thai students about speech acts

by Gregory Bornmann

ThaiTESOL Bulletin, 14:2, 16-20. (August, 2001)

As the form and significance of speech acts vary across cultures, language teachers must do more than simply supply... more As the form and significance of speech acts vary across cultures, language teachers must do more than simply supply their students with grammar and vocabulary. Speech acts such as greetings and leave-takings, "please" and "thank you," compliments and responses, requests and rejections, and accepting invitations, can cause difficulty for Thai learners of English due to differing politeness strategies and cultural norms. Thai learners sometimes use phrases and strategies from Thai when speaking English, such as asking "Where you go?" as a greeting; thanking less frequently than native speakers; and saying "Yes" when they mean "No". Such interference (the transfer of L1 pragmatic norms and strategies to L2) can lead to misunderstandings or "pragmatic failure."

Guide To Bangkok

by Sam Thompson

The State Tower is one of the most amazing places you can have a drink/dinner in Bangkok. It’s a huge apartment/office... more The State Tower is one of the most amazing places you can have a drink/dinner in Bangkok. It’s a huge apartment/office block with a few restaurants and bars on top. The view is amazing and its great venue to enjoy the sights of the city. I highly recommend a visit.

Thai and Lao Buddhism [in British Columbia, Canada]

by Ian Baird

Placzek, J. & I.G. Baird
Pages 107-123 In: DeVries, Larry, Don Baker & Daniel L. Overmyer (eds.) (2010), Asian Religions in British Columbia, University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver, Canada.

The security problems that affect Thai- Myanmar cross-border trade [Thai Version]

by Patra 黄博 Suwanwatthana

Opening the Crossing Points for Thai-Myanmar cross-border trade, and Thai National Security [Thai Version]

by Patra 黄博 Suwanwatthana

The lost territories: The role of trauma and humiliation in the formation of national consciousness in Thailand

by Shane Strate

Book Review: The Ambiguous Allure of the West: Traces of the Colonial in Thailand by Rachel Harrison and Peter A. Jackson (eds.)

by Shane Strate

Published in the Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, October 2011.

This edited volume explores the utility of post-colonial theory in Thai studies. This edited volume explores the utility of post-colonial theory in Thai studies.

Thailand four years after the coup: The struggle against the dissenters

by Poowin Bunyavejchewin

Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia 10(2) (2011): 47-56.

After the 2006 coup d'état, there were many unusual incidents in Thailand, some of which involved considerable... more After the 2006 coup d'état, there were many unusual incidents in Thailand, some of which involved considerable bloodshed, which originated from clashes between those in power and dissenters. This article examines how political institutions in Thailand are structured, and the author argues that, in order to effectively assess the state of Thai politics after the coup, an analysis of the structures of political legitimacy in the country is essential. The author will be exploring the way in which political legitimacy is generally determined by the established power holders, especially the monarchy and its allies. The ideologies and beliefs of recent dissenters will also be examined in detail.

Time's Arrow and the Burden of the Past: A Primer on the Thai Un-state

by Paul Busbarat

This is a concept paper circulated for public view and comment. Please feel free to make any suggestion if you like. Suggestions can be sent to me or other contributors as specified in the paper. Thank you for your interest.

The spectacles through which we view the Thai state need a new prescription. At the moment things are out of focus and... more The spectacles through which we view the Thai state need a new prescription. At the moment things are out of focus and what we see is blurred. Most observers - academics, including Thai academics, journalists, and security analysts - see Thailand as following a clear democratic path even if it strays and back-tracks all too frequently. The language in the political science literature used to chart this path is couched in such terms as democratization, political reform, transformation, liberalization. But what if time's arrow for Thailand is not democracy in progress, but another thing entirely? With a nod to Clifford Shearing and Jennifer Wood on nodal governance, this concept paper, produced by a small team of contributors, proposes that the Thai state is most usefully understood as an entity with many centres of power that sometimes do what they want autonomously and with impunity. The Thai state is an entangled mass of interlocking relationships, alliances, and struggles between and among many centres of power often in competition with one another. Even with elections, autocratic rule is the norm, not the exception.

This paper is led by Prof Craig Reynolds in collaboration with the other 7 scholars contributing their own view on other case topics.

"Bitter Enemies or Machiavellian Friends? Exploring the Dutch–Portuguese Relationship in Seventeenth-Century Siam"

by Rita Bernardes de Carvalho

Published in: Anais de História de Além-Mar, vol. X, 2009, pp.361-385.

The aim of this article is to reassess the nature of the Luso-Dutch relationship in Siam during the seventeenth... more The aim of this article is to reassess the nature of the Luso-Dutch relationship in Siam during the seventeenth century. Analysing Dutch sources exclusively allows one to be aware of important key-features of Dutch perception, and to obtain an image of the Portuguese presence in the region. With those methodological tools, the official version of bitter rivalry expressed in Portuguese sources can be questioned. Was the Dutch-Portuguese relationship defined by rivalry or was there space for partnership?
Siam (modern Thailand) was an independent kingdom which had never been occupied by the Portuguese or by the Dutch, being for that same reason an ideal field of study. In addition, the interaction between Siamese local powers and Europeans in solving conflicts that resulted from Dutch-Portuguese rivalry is another aspect to be taken into account.
The Dutch-Portuguese rivalry will be disassembled here, and each part analysed separately. The cooperative moments between the two people disclosed by Dutch sources will have special coverage, as they present us with a renewed perspective of the Luso-Dutch relationship. Finally, through the case study of the bandel de Sião (the Portuguese settlement in Ayutthaya) it will be shown how essential Dutch archival material can be for a study of the Portuguese presence in mainland Southeast Asia.

Key-words
Siam; Ayutthaya; VOC; bandel de Sião; Dutch-Portuguese rivalry; partnership; perception;

Thailand, international human rights and ISOC

by Paul Busbarat

‘Linga bell, linga bell, jingle all the way’

by Paul Busbarat

Thai-Cambodian conflict: an obstacle to the ASEAN Community 2015?

by Paul Busbarat

Political commentary

Thailand’s foreign relations under the new government

by Paul Busbarat

Political commentary

A comparative analysis of stereotypes and communication patterns of older and younger workers in Thailand and the USA

by Shaughan Keaton

McCann, R. M., Keaton, S. A. (2011, June).  A comparative analysis of stereotypes and communication patterns of older and younger workers in Thailand and the USA.  Presented at the annual International Conference on Business and Information, Bangkok, Thailand.

In this paper, we assess younger worker perceptions of older and same age worker stereotypes and communication in... more In this paper, we assess younger worker perceptions of older and same age worker stereotypes and communication in Thailand and the USA. We find that older workers were generally seen by younger workers as more uncomfortable with new technology, less flexible and more cautious on the job, and more loyal (and having fewer absences) to the organization than younger workers. As compared to younger American workers, younger Thai workers agreed more with “negative” stereotype items that older workers made more mental mistakes, were slower to adapt to new technology, were more fearful of technology, and were less flexible at work, but they also agreed more with “positive” stereotype items that older workers are absent less, have a better attitude toward work, and have a higher level of commitment to the organization than younger workers.  In terms of their communication, younger Thai workers perceived both other younger Thai workers and older Thai workers as exhibiting more avoidant communication than their counterparts from the USA.  The younger Thai workers also perceived members of their own age in-group as communicating in a more non-accommodating manner than younger American workers.  Implications for the aging process across cultures and the workplace are discussed.