Top 5 Books, Next Best 5 Books, About Thai Culture? I Am Talking More Scholarly, Here.

[OldChinaHam]

Hi!

I have just popped over to have a look-see at the Book Thread in the Pub.

I did not see much about Thai Culture to rivet the eye.

Yes, I did see something titled, "The Asian Mystique:......Blah, Blah". This is not what I am talking about here, particularly, although it would be nice to read on a Sunday morning during the season of the Monsoon.

So I am sure the Pub is the wrong place to post this honestly serious request -------

So here is my question:

A. What are the top 5 books, of university level scholarship, or almost so, which best describe Thai culture during any period between 1800 and the present?

Here I want to have a list of books that any university student of a natural or social science would not be ashamed to be caught by her prof reading.

In other words, serious books only, please, dealing with and describing Thai culture, or life in Thailand, or habits and mores, or things like this.

B. Same as A, but with a twist. Please include books dealing more with Thai pop culture, beginning when pop began to be big, around 1945.

Please include, with links, any paper or yet to be published works, such as any PhD theses, or interesting serious articles that you know of which are of a quality suitable to be cited in serious research.

My sincere thanks goes out to any kind contributors here who help me work up a very impressive bibliography for my next monograph.

My thanks and fondest regards to all,

And thanks to Jack the Mouse, too.

OldChinaHam

(Out Of My Can, Again)

(But, In a Serious Way, This Time)

[OldChinaHam]

Well, it has been 45 minutes already,

So far without one contribution.

Therefore let me start off by posting the header from this course syllabus as an example of the kind of topics and books we are talking here:

Course: PD223 Society and Culture of Thailand (3 credits – 45 hours)

Class time: 09.00 – 12.00 (3 hours)

Class Room:

Lecturer: Aj.Akkharaphong Khamkhun

Course Description

Thai society and culture as investigated in diverse anthropological methods, using

case studies from various researches by Thai and international academics, emphasizing

analytical and critical approaches.

Objectives

1. To explore the diversity of Thai society and culture from anthropological

approach

2. To emphasize the comprehension of Thai society and culture by using case

studies from various researches by Thai and international academics

3. To study the changes and transformations of Thai society and culture in a time of

Globalization from cross-cultural and comparative approaches

Course Focus

The focus of this course is on the exploration of Thai society and culture through

historical, anthropological, sociological, and cultural studies approaches. Topics to be

covered include: the ways of Thai, the rural-urban divide; Thai identity and notions of

“Thainess”; Thai social relations; development; migration, and socioeconomic change;

gender; religion; and arts.

http://eap.ucop.edu/Documents/guidebooks/1314/Society_and_Culture_Summer2012.pdf

Of course, we do know there are many here who enjoy a bit of self-study directed at learning about various subjects and topics.

Here is a good place to list the tools required to learn about the culture of Thailand.

If you follow the above link, there might be some books listed which would interest you.

And I am here hoping some of you will post many more.

I am finding the culture of Thailand and the language of Thailand even more interesting than I imagined in could be.

The more I learn, the more interesting this study becomes.

HAS ANYONE READ ANY OF THE FOLLOWING suggested readings for this course?

And, can anyone comment on these suggested readings, which might be best to start with, for example?

Suggested Readings:

Akkharaphong Khamkhun. Border of Mind: Nationalism, Tourism, and Competing

Meanings of the Thai-Cambodian. Paper presented at The 3rd Singapore Graduate

Forum on Southeast Asian Studies.28-29 July 2008, National University of

Singapore.

Anderson, Benedict Richard O‟Gorman. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the

Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso, 2006.

Anderson, Benedict Richard O‟Gorman. "Withdrawal Symptoms." In The Spectre of

Comparisons: Nationalism, Southeast Asia, and the World. London: Verso, 1998.

Brown, Ian. Economic Change in South-East Asia, c. 1830 - 1980. Kuala Lumpur:

Oxford University Press, 1997.

Cooper, Robert and Nanthapa. Culture Shock! Thailand. Singapore: Times Boioks

International, 1990.

Cornwel-Smith. Everyday Popular Culture. Bangkok: River Books, 2005.

Embree, John F. "Thailand - A Loosely Structured Social System." American

Anthropologist 52, no. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1950): 181-193.

Nidhi Eoseewong. "Thai Cultural Constitution." Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia 3

(March 2003): http://kyotoreview.cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp/issue/issue2/index.html.8

Srisurang Poolthupya. “Social Change as Seen in Modern Thai Literature,” in Essays on

Literature and Society in Southeast Asia: Political and Sociological Perspectives.

Tham Seong Chee (ed.), Singapore: Singapore University Press, 1981, pp.206-

215

Charnvit Kasetsiri. “Siam/Civilization – Thailand/Globalization: Things to come,” in

Thammasat Review, pp.114-133.

Keyes, Charles F. Thailand: Buddhist Kingdom as Modern Nation State. Bangkok:

Editions Duang Kamol, 1981.

Girling, John L. S. Interpreting Development: Capitalism, Democracy and the Middle

Class in Thailand. Ithaca, New York: Southeast Asia Program, Cornell

University, 1996.

Girling, John L. S. “Thailand in Gramscian Perspective.” Pacific Affairs 57, no. 3 (1984):

385-403.

Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker. Thailand: Economy and Politics. Kuala Lumper:

Oxford University Press, 2002.

Thak Chaloemtiarana. Thailand: the Politics of Despotic Paternalism. Chiang Mai:

Silkworm Books, 2007.

Cohen, Erik. “Thailand in „Touristic Transition‟,” in Interconnected Worlds: Tourism in

Southeast Asia. Peggy Teo, T.C. Chang and K.C. Ho (eds.), Pergamon, 2001,

pp.155-175.

Hewison, Kevin. (ed.). Political Change in Thailand: Democracy and Participation.

London and New York: Routledge, 1997.

McCargo, Duncan., and Ukrist Pathmanand. The Thaksization of Thailand. Copenhagen:

NIAS Press, 2005.

Thanet Aphornsuvan. Origin of Malay Muslim “Separatism” in Southern Thailand,” in

Thai South and Malay North: Ethnic Iteractions on a Plural Penisula. Micheal J.

Montesano and Patrick Jory (eds), Singapore: National Uniersity of SIngapor

Press, 2008, pp.91-123.

Nidhi Eoseewong. Pen and Sail: Literature and History in Early Bangkok. Chiang Mai:

Silkworm Books, 2005.

Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker. A History of Thailand. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 2005.

Peleggi, Maurizio. Thailand: The Worldly Kingdom. London: Reaktion Books, 2007.

[OldChinaHam]

Another reason I am interested in this subject is that I am attempting to master the Thai language.

Well, maybe "master" is not the best term to describe my Thai language acquisition attempt.

I would say that I am trying to learn as much as I can in a one year period of time, starting today.

I have no time constraints and nothing keeping me from studying 24 hours a day, since working is not permitted with my particular visa.

I figure that knowing as much as I can about Thailand through reading English language books and articles about Thailand will put me in the mood for learning the language.

I also figure that there are many of us who, in addition to any language learning benefits accrued from reading about Thai culture, just want to know more about this place we find so special and fascinating, and downright delightful.

I do not want to be ignorant about so much of Thailand if I do not need to be.

I have access to a first class library.

But I do not know where to start, really.

I want to know what books I should read first to provide a good foundation for the books I read later.

I can already say my name in Thai.

And a few other things.

Thank you.

OCH

Edited September 1, 2013 by OldChinaHam

[cpofc]

How about, 'Essays on Thai Folklore' - Phya Anuman Rajadhon - ISBN 974-210-345-3 Published by Suk Soongawang.

Covers a multitude of topics, prefaced by HRH Prince Wan Waithayakon

[cpofc]

Perhaps not exactly what you are looking for, the first books I read about Thai Culture Etc., were Denis Segaller's, 'Thai Ways' and 'More Thai Ways'. Both truly excellent books. Highly recommended.

A damn sight more educational than the plethora of publications which exist today, such as, 'I Married A Thai Bar Girl', or, 'My life inside the Bangkok Hilton'

[giggles]

not much or a market for such book so not much on the bookshelves ,sales would be too low to run a print run. thats why its all sleezy BG and low life rubbish by stephen leather and co

Edited September 1, 2013 by giggles

[OldChinaHam]

Perhaps not exactly what you are looking for, the first books I read about Thai Culture Etc., were Denis Segaller's, 'Thai Ways' and 'More Thai Ways'. Both truly excellent books. Highly recommended.

A dam_n sight more educational than the plethora of publications which exist today, such as, 'I Married A Thai Bar Girl', or, 'My life inside the Bangkok Hilton'

These two did look interesting, as no doubt they are.

I will keep my eye pealed for a used copy.

Amazon lists these two books, but there are no copies for sale.

There is one, perhaps, but it is selling for USD65.

[OldChinaHam]

not much or a market for such book so not much on the bookshelves ,sales would be too low to run a print run. thats why its all sleezy BG and low life rubbish by stephen leather and co

I am fortunate that I have access to a university library, which also probably does not purchase rubbish for its collection, and should be able to find or access most English books or papers written about Thai culture. Thai language books would be even easier, but I would not be able to read them, unfortunately.

[OldChinaHam]

Preliminary Reading: Thailand: The Worldly Kingdom. Maurizio Peleggi. The University of Chicago Press and Reaktion Books, Chicago, USA. (2007).

Very Thai. Philip Cornwel-Smith. River Books Press, 396 Maharaj Road, Tatien Bangkok, Thailand. (2007).

A History of Thailand. Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. (2005).

http://programsandcourses.anu.edu.au/course/THAI6008

==========

And then there are the above three which are suggested for preliminary reading before enrolling in a graduate Thai culture/language course.

[HeavyDrinker]

A. What are the top 5 books, of university level scholarship, or almost so, which best describe Thai culture during any period between 1800 and the present?

Here I want to have a list of books that any university student of a natural or social science would not be ashamed to be caught by her prof reading.

In other words, serious books only, please, dealing with and describing Thai culture, or life in Thailand, or habits and mores, or things like this.

To be honest I don't think there are any definitive works on Thai 'culture' as a whole. From a Western perspective William Warren's works are usually beyond reproach but aimed at the casual reader more than the academic.

For cultural aspects of Thailand insofar as gaining an understanding of the way life and thinking operate here, the best starting point in my opinion would be to read the novels of Thailand written by Thai authors.

Most of the key novels have all been translated.

If you google 'Marcel Barang" that will put you on the right track.

For me the main five 'must reads' (although they are all worth a read) are:

Behind the Painting - Sriburapha (has an excellent introduction by the translator David Smyth)

Letters from Thailand - Botan (Lousy translation but still an interesting time capsule of post WWII Thailand)

Snakes - Wimon Sainimnuan

The Judgement - Chart Korpjitti

Mad Dogs and Co - Chart Korpjitti

Also well worth a look are:

The Sergeant's Garland: a short story anthology (OUP) Eds + Trans David Smyth and Manas Chittakasem,

Kamsing Srinawk; The Politician and Other Stories (OUP) Ed Michael Smithies trans Domnern Garden.

Sidaoruang - A Drop of Glass (DK) trans Rachel Harrison with a superb introduction. These stories were written in the aftermath of Thammasat 1976 and really capture the feelings of fear and paranoia after the events.

Some of the colonial era writings on Thailand released by OUP such as 'Durian; A Siamese Interlude' by Noel Wynard and some of Victor King's anthologies make for good reading although they are hard to find and can be pricey.

If you have trouble finding the above, the library at the Siam Society could be a good starting point. Also they tend to turn up in the second hand book shops around Khao San Road quite regularly so a morning spent trawling through them can often bring some great rewards.

I'd also second the Segaller books. They are brilliantly written (if possibly a little dated now) and a classic expat read.

[Kudel]

Search engines and e-readers are the way to go ,but can not give you title names as this would get one banned for life on TV.

[wprime]

You can find the journal of the Siam Society on-line:

http://www.siam-society.org/pub_JSS/jss_index_1911-1920.html

I recommend:

Four Reigns

Letters from Thailand

[isanbirder]

HeavyDrinker is on the ball here. You will find out a lot more about Thai culture from novels written by Thais than by serious academic tomes. Marcel Barang has translated a number of them.

One Thai writer who has written novels in English is Pira Sudham. Although he became very westernised, he retained a base at Napo in Buriram, and is probably very accurate about how people lived.

Two more light-hearted books in English are

Mai Pen Rai Means Never Mind (I forget the author)

Touch the Dragon, written by a Canadian girl (Karen Connolly, I think) who lived for a year with a Thai family in Denchai.

[jingreet]

There are actually many Thai studies books available. You can find them in Kinokuniya and Asia Books (you'll have to sift through lots of the other stuff that's been mentioned already), but they're there. At the Kinokuniya in Paragon, it's a rack behind the checkout area, kind of wedged in by the travel books and magazines. Universities have a lot too, but can be hard to track down and sometimes a bit out of date. I don't know which university libraries you have access to, but if it's Chula, I'm pretty familiar with their library system. If you're interested, please message me.

As mentioned earlier, Anuman Rajadhon is an excellent scholar of Thai culture. Dhanit Yupho is another Thai scholar and a former head of the Department of Fine Arts. Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit are a husband-wife team, both highly educated and well-respected in the field. An American scholar who I think hasn't been mentioned yet is David Wyatt. He wrote many books, among them Thailand: A Short History, which is one of the best historical overviews of Thailand available today.

A few other random books that come to mind:

David Morton, The Traditional Music of Thailand. This was written in the 1970s but is still considered the authoritative English-language work on Thai music.

Mattani Mojdara Rutnin, Dance, Drama, and Theatre in Thailand. Really well-researched with useful notes/citations.

William Klausner, Thai Culture in Transition. If I remember correctly (been a little while since I read this one) this is a bit more anecdotal than analytical. I think kind of like Niels Mulder's Inside Thai Society.

The Traiphum Phra Ruang is kind of a bedrock work on Thai Buddhist cosmology and some related underlying concepts. It was probably written by a king of the Sukhothai kingdom, and there's an English translation but it's really, really dense and detailed. I've only read little sections which were required, and those were plenty for me!

Prince Damrong Rachanuphap wrote lots about Thai history, society and culture. He was a brother of King Rama V and his scholarship is very respected and covers a wide range of topics. Sometimes it seems to me like he relies on his own authority at times rather than citing others or explaining clearly how he knows these things. Maybe this would be more self-evident to a Thai reader who grew up knowing more background, but to an "outsider" like me, it's sometimes a little hard to understand. Still, it's definitely worthwhile to read his writings.

One book I haven't read but is highly regarded is Thongchai Winichakul's Siam Mapped, about Siam's transition to the Western conception of nationhood.

There are some good academic books on regional history/issues too. I've seen several on the South. I'm more interested in the North, and I can recommend Sarasawadee Ongsakul's History of Lanna.

Besides these book ideas, I'd say you should also just search in your university's library. I used to do keyword searches most often. Then go find the most interesting matches on the shelves, and you can usually tell from looking for a few minutes whether they're worth reading or not! Searching by author sometimes doesn't work because names (especially Thai names) can get written different ways in the same computer catalog, so sometimes little spelling variations are excluded from the results.

Edited September 8, 2013 by jingreet

[redwood13]

Perhaps not exactly what you are looking for, the first books I read about Thai Culture Etc., were Denis Segaller's, 'Thai Ways' and 'More Thai Ways'. Both truly excellent books. Highly recommended.

A dam_n sight more educational than the plethora of publications which exist today, such as, 'I Married A Thai Bar Girl', or, 'My life inside the Bangkok Hilton'

These two did look interesting, as no doubt they are.

I will keep my eye pealed for a used copy.

Amazon lists these two books, but there are no copies for sale.

There is one, perhaps, but it is selling for USD65.

The Segaller titles are available on abebooks.com with prices starting at US$1.00 (plus postage).

-redwood

[harrry]

You can find the journal of the Siam Society on-line:

http://www.siam-society.org/pub_JSS/jss_index_1911-1920.html

I recommend:

Four Reigns

Letters from Thailand

Yes Four Reigns by ex Prime Minister Kukrit is a real gem. I have only read the English translation but had trouble putting it down. It would be even better in Thai I am sure.

[harrry]

Regarding learning Thai despite the problems CMU caused with the Language institute students and management check if Kroo Om is doing the introductory 45 hour couse. It is not expensive and she is one of the few people who has produced an excellently structured introductory book which she uses in the course. She plans her lessons and provides a lot of interesting practice. One of the few teachers who can plan and present a class to the second.

It will give a good foundation which I do not feel many of the others do. There was no comparision between her course and the one year course. She made you want to learn and participate. The one year courses are a bit of a visa mill.

Edited September 9, 2013 by harrry

[Darren McKenzie]

OP. I downloaded this and found it very interesting:

http://www.thailandtoday.org/culture-and-society/elibrary/books/481

Thailand traits and treasures.

Author: Publisher: National Identity Office, Office of the Permanent Secretary, the Prime Minister's Office, 2005.

ISBN: 9749771524.

[CMHomeboy78]

CPA Media...

and anything written by Dr Andrew Forbes is highly recommended.