Word has gone out that on Tuesday 28 November, South East Asia Research and the Centre of South East Asian Studies, SOAS will host a special lecture by Thongchai Winichakul.
Thongchai is, of course, a professor in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is best known for his 1994 book, Siam Mapped: A History of the Geo-Body of a Nation. Going on attendance at other recent Thai related events in the UK, his talk, which be held at the Royal Asiatic Society, 14 Stephenson Way, London NW1 2HD , from 5-7pm, should attract a good sized turnout.
Hopefully, New Mandala will have a face in the crowd, and will be in a position to provide some reporting on the event for those who don’t live nearby.
The abstract follows:
Thailand’s Coup: A Step Forward in a Dangerous Direction
How can the recent coup in Thailand be understood from the perspective of the country’s history of democratization? What is the “Thai” style of democracy? Was it a really “good” coup from this perspective? Was it a step back to reset democracy in the right direction or was it a step forward, but in the wrong direction?
5 responses so far ↓
1 Thorn // Nov 15, 2006 at 9:03 am
Great to see Prof.Thongchai talk about Coup at SOAS, esp. after Sonthi (Limthongkul) has been there around a month ago. I beleive Prof.Thongchai will do a much better job at explaining the event from the academic perspective.
His recent articles about the Coup on various Thai website was very insightful. He did criticise many Thai academics for the way that they are being “pragmatist” about the Coup (Many Thai academics saw Coup as acceptable solution or as the past that cannot be changed, so they join the arrays of reform that’s taking place in the present. One of the remarkable one that did this is Thammasat University Rector, Surapon Nitigraipoj).
Well, I agree with him to some extent about many Thai academics being pragmatist. But on the other side, when he criticise pragmatism serverely, he himself can be criticise back for being “idealist”.
for Thongchai recent article on Pragmatism of Thai academicians
http://www.prachatai.com/05web/th/home/page2.php?mod=mod_ptcms&ContentID=5735&SystemModuleKey=HilightNews&System_Session_Language=Thai
(It’s in Thai, so hope you can read that)
2 BF // Nov 15, 2006 at 12:47 pm
You should definitely attend, it went well at Stanford but there were not many audiences though (around 15). His informal dinner chat with Thai students there was better-attended (around 20, Thais only). A lot of his talk was covered in the new article http://www.prachatai.com/05web/th/home/page2.php?mod=mod_ptcms&ContentID=5830&SystemModuleKey=HilightNews&System_Session_Language=Thai
I blogged about his talk at stanford (in Thai), in case anyone wants to read.
http://www.bloggang.com/viewdiary.php?id=bfpinkerton&group=1
3 Octave // Nov 15, 2006 at 2:51 pm
That’s going to be an exciting event for people in London (and probably some from Oxford, Nick?) to hear Ajarn Thongchai reflecting on the September 19 coup. He is probably the most outspoken Thai academic who is against the idea of employing non-democratic means to resolve the political conflict.
It is a bit unfortunate that the event falls on Tuesday which may prevent some students, especially those outside London, to attend. Hopefully, they will record the lecture or broadcast it live on the internet for those who can’t.
4 New Mandala » Reminder: Thongchai in London // Nov 28, 2006 at 10:02 pm
[...] Tonight, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, Thongchai Winichakul will be lecturing in London on the topic, “Thailand’s Coup: A Step Forward in a Dangerous Direction“. The talk will be held at the Royal Asiatic Society, 14 Stephenson Way, London NW1 2HD , from 5-7pm. [...]
5 New Mandala » Siam Rumoured: The Thongchai Lecture in London // Dec 15, 2006 at 10:23 am
[...] Trekking to London for Thongchai Winichakul’s talk on 28 November 2006, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The last time I attended a Thai Studies event in London – the talk given by Kraisak Choonhavan and Sondhi Limthongkul.back in mid-October – it was jam packed and, at times, just a little bit tense. In contrast, Thongchai’s talk was a more relaxed affair. His interpretation of recent political events didn’t seem to provoke any of the candid opposition that confronted Kraisak and Sondhi. Thongchai was, somewhat to my surprise, greeted by a generally receptive audience – patient to clarify his thoughts on the trajectory of Thai politics and, in particular, the role of the King and royally-aligned elites. [...]
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