Episode 114: Thongchai Winichakul, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Wisconsin-Madison

In this episode, host Francine Barchett interviewed Dr. Thongchai Winichakul, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Thongchai looks back on his 40-year career to reflect on how Thai studies has changed overtime. First, he views Thai intellectual history as a vivid cross-cultural encounter. The field combines comparison, interpretation and translation across both literal and cultural languages. Furthermore, he argues that as academics come from different political, economic, scholarly, and cultural environments, their wide-ranging perspectives are informing new questions and methodologies. He coins different scholarly approaches and positioning in Thai studies, ranging from the "Other" to the "Self" as home scholar, with many in-betweens.   Lightning Round: 2:56   Research and lecture summary: 21:38   Advice for researchers and recommendations: 1:05:40   Powerpoint: Thai Studies in the Global Context of Encounters.pptx   The music on the podcast is from "Me and Some Friends", a musical project by a group of friends at Cornell, to experiment with how the beautiful timbres of Gamelan music can meld with hypnotic guitar parts to create a contemplative and unique experience. Check them out here.    Produced by Neen Tangcharoenmonkong.