Contemporary Socio-Cultural and Political Perspectives in Thailand

Part I. Thailand and Current Socio-cultural Issues

1. Redefining “Thainess”: Embracing Diversity, Preserving Unity
Suwilai Premsrirat

2. The Giant Swing (Lo Ching Cha): Brahmanical Origins and Its Significance to the Religious Culture of Thailand
Willard G. Bogart

3. Thai Amulets: Symbol of the Practice of Multi-faiths and Cultures
Sophana Srichampa

4. Buddhist Temple: A Religious Capital Approach for Preparing Thailand Toward the Aging Society
Saowapa Pornsiripongse, Kwanchit Sasiwongsaroj, Patcharin Ketjamnong

5. Beyond Localities: Community Development and Network Construction Among the Buddhist Monks in Northern Thailand
Mayumi Okabe

6. Hegemonic English, Standard Thai, and Narratives of the Subaltern in Thailand
Adcharawan Buripakdi

7. Digital Revolution and Its Discontents: Thai “Underground Metal” Scene and Their Love-Hate Relationship with New Technologies
Athip Jittarerk

8. The Thawiphop Phenomenon: Reimagining Nationalism in a Contemporary Thai Novel and Its Stage and Screen Adaptations
Morakot Jewachinda Meyer

9. Relatedness: Capitalism and the Sufficiency Economy in Rural Northeastern Thailand
Ratana Tosakul

Part II. Political Aspects in Thailand Today

10. Party-Social Movement Coalition in Thailand’s Political Conflict (2005–2011)
Aim Sinpeng

11. “For King and Country”? Thailand’s Political Conflicts as Dynamics of Social Closure
Allan Lee

12. The Vulnerability of Thai Democracy: Coups d’état and Political Changes in Modern Thailand
Pei-Hsiu Chen

13. Politics and the City: Protest, Memory, and Contested Space in Bangkok
Serhat Ünaldi

14. The Politics of Change in Thai Cities: The Urban Poor as Development Catalysts
Diane Archer

Part III. Ethnic Issues in Contemporary Thailand

15. Language and Cultural Rights in the Ethnic Revival Movement of the Black Tai in Khaoyoi, Petchaburi
Sumittra Suraratdecha

16. Lahu Students in Thai Schools: The Cases of Som and Noi
Matthew R. Juelsgaard

17. Rural-Urban Migration and Ethnic Minority Enterprise
Alexander Trupp

Part IV. Contemporary Gender and Queer Perspectives

18. Learning to Look Good: Thai Women Office Workers and Everyday Consumption Practices at Work
Kosum Omphornuwat

19. Thai Daughters, English Wives: A Critical Ethnography of Transnational Lives
Chantanee Charoensri

20. The Expat Life with a Thai Wife: Thailand as an Imagined Space of Masculine Transformation
Megan Lafferty, Kristen Hill Maher

21. Women NGOs’ Movement for Fighting Against Domestic Violence
Suangsurang Mitsamphanta

22. Women’s Agency in the Malay Muslim Communities of Southern Thailand
Andrea Katalin Molnar

23. Trafficking and Coerced Prostitution in Thailand: Reconceptualizing International Law in the Age of Globalization
Erin Kamler

24. Gender and Buddhism in the Wake of the Tsunami
Monica Lindberg Falk

25. Not Yet Queer Enough: Revising “Gender” in Development
Witchayanee Ocha

26. Conceptualizing Thai Genderscapes: Transformation and Continuity in the Thai Sex/Gender System
Dredge Byung’chu Käng

27. The Third Gender as Seen in Thai Fiction
Jenjit Gasigijtamrong

Part V. Contemporary Health Concerns

28. Theravada Buddhist Temple Taking Care of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Thailand: A Case Study of Phrabatnampu Temple
Yoshihide Sakurai, Kazumi Sasaki

29. Authoritative Knowledge, Folk Knowledge, and Antenatal Care in Contemporary Northern Thailand
Pranee Liamputtong, Somsri Kitisriworapan

30. Moral Aspect and the Effectiveness of Local Healing in Northern Thailand
Yongsak Tantipidoke

31.
Phum Panya Chao Baan (Local Wisdom) and Traditional Healers in Southern Thailand
Dusanee Suwankhong, Pranee Liamputtong

32. Patronage, Dominance, or Collaboration? Thailand’s NGOs and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation
Atchara Rakyutidharm

Keywords: Social Sciences, Sociology, general, Gender Studies, Quality of Life Research