The Emergence of Anthropology in Thailand: The Role of Suthep Soonthornpasuch

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian Studies

Abstract

Many social scientists have noted that the postmodern condition of late capitalism has resulted in a new relationship between Western scholars and scholars in the so-called periphery. Many of the scholars in developing countries have become global anthropologists who have refined and developed Western models by drawing on indigenous knowledge and concepts. Suthep Soonthornpasuch is one such scholar who has pioneered the discipline of anthropology in Thailand. This essay includes a biographical sketch of Suthep, focusing on his training in the UK and the US and his activities and scholarship in Thailand. The essay discusses both the intellectual and political influences that have affected Suthep's anthropological activities in Thailand and have made him a truly global scholar.

Publication Date

1996

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