New Directions in Thai Studies

This book considers recent developments in Thai history and historiography, examining why Thai studieshadsuffered under a combination of protectionism, uncritical learning, and unwillingness to engage with scholarship from abroad. The essays collected here explore, from Thai perspectives, innovations in theory and methodology in Thai studies, gatheringcritical insights from disciplines such asanthropologyandcultural studies.The book may also serve as an entry to Thai studies, informing experts and non-specialist readersalikeon topics such as access to Thai archives, the difficulties in conducting ethnographic research with Thai subjects, the (non-)development of scholarly disciplines in Thailand, and the challenges and opportunities presented by Thai studies as a whole for prospective scholars and graduate students.