In this volume Anthony Reid positions Southeast Asia on the stage of world history. He argues that the region not only had a historical character of its own, but that it played a crucial role in shaping the modern world. Southeast Asia's interaction with the forces uniting and transforming the world is explored through chapters focusing on Islamization; Chinese, Siamese, Cham, and Javanese trade; Makasar's modernizing moment; and slavery. The last three chapters examine from different perspectives how this interaction of relative equality shifted to one of an impoverished "third world" region exposed to European colonial power. Anthony Reid is professor of history and director of Southeast Asian studies at UCLA.
In this volume, Anthony Reid positions Southeast Asia on the stage of world history. He argues that the region not only had a historical character of its own, but that it played a crucial role in shaping the modern world. Southeast Asia’s interaction with the forces uniting and transforming the world is explored through chapters focusing on Islamization; Chinese, Siamese, Cham and Javanese trade; Makasar’s modernizing moment; and slavery. The last three chapters examine from different perspectives how this interaction of relative equality shifted to one of an impoverished, “third world” region exposed to European colonial power.
To celebrate Anthony Reid's numerous and seminal contributions to the field of Southeast Asian history, a group of his colleagues and students has contributed essays for this Festschrift. In addition to introductory essays which provide personal and intellectual histories of Anthony Reid the man, there is a range of original scholarly contributions addressing historical issues which Reid has researched during his career. Divided into sections which examine Southeast Asia in the world, early modern Southeast Asia, and modern Southeast Asia, these works engage with issues ranging from the Age of Commerce and comparative Eurasian history, to nationalism, ethnic hybridity, Islam, technological change, and the Chinese and Arabs in Southeast Asia. The authors include some of the foremost historians of Southeast Asia in our generation.
Ethnicity, Borders, and the Grassroots Interface with the State brings together exciting new work by anthropologists working on mainland Southeast Asia. The volume honors anthropologist Charles F. Keyes and the chapters here address concepts central to Keyes’ own work—ethnicity, religion, and modernity—as they can be applied to the countries of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. The volume also reflects recent scholarly interest in “cross-border” issues, as reflected both in the complexity of identity, where ethnic groups extend across boundaries, and in increasing cross-border mobility. The volume is divided into three sections. The first, “The State and Public Ceremony,” includes chapters on a ceremony of national heritage as celebrated in Vietnam and the United States, Shan novice initiation near the border of Myanmar in Thailand, and the restoration of the monkhood in Cambodia. The second section, “The Grassroots Negotiation of Modernity,” contains chapters about the concept of “sufficiency” in Thai farm production, the ways modernity is conceived among the Lahu in Thailand, and the complexities of the Thai system of identity cards. The final section, “Crossing Borders of State and Nation” focuses on the stateless Lao population in northeastern Thailand, Vietnamese migrants to Laos, and Western (farang) men married to northeastern Thai women. Contributors to the book include scholars based in Thailand, Vietnam, the United States, Australia, and Mexico. The book is an invaluable reference for scholars of Southeast Asia, and will also appeal to the general reader. Highlights Brings together a range of new anthropological research on mainland Southeast Asia Compiled in honor of anthropologist Charles F. Keyes, and draws on key concepts he developed in his work Includes sections on “The State and Public Ceremony,” “The Grassroots Negotiation of Modernity,” and “Crossing Borders of State and Nation” Contributors include scholars based in Thailand, Vietnam, the United States, Australia, and Mexico.
Ambassadors from Versailles in wigs and lace mounted on elephants crossing rice fields... Siamese mandarins prostrate before the throne of Louis XIV... a Greek adventurer... a scheming French Jesuit— these are just a few of the colourful characters that playa role in the early history of relations between Siam and the West. In a lively and engaging style, Professor Dirk Van der Cruysse traces the history of European-Siamese relations, from the arrival of the Portuguese around the beginning of the sixteenth century followed by the Dutch, the British, and the French. Explorers, merchants, missionaries, and ambassadors came and went across the oceans, sometimes producing vivid accounts of lengthy voyages, lavish courts, and strange customs. In these descriptions and anecdotes we observe the startling juxtaposition of fundamentally different worldviews arising from two distinct religious milieux. Van der Cruysse expertly weaves together material from journals,memoirs, and other archival documents, quoting from them extensively to construct a compelling historical account of a fascinating relationship. Originally published as Louis XIV et le Siam (Fayard, 1991), this English version has been ably translated by Michael Smithies, author of numerous books and articles on the French involvement in Siam during the seventeenth century.
This book presents extensive new research findings on and new thinking about Southeast Asia in this interesting, richly diverse, but much understudied period. It examines the wide and well-developed trading networks, explores the different kinds of regimes and the nature of power and security, considers urban growth, international relations and the beginnings of European involvement with the region, and discusses religious factors, in particular the spread and impact of Christianity. One key theme of the book is the consideration of how well-developed Southeast Asia was before the onset of European involvement, and, how, during the peak of the commercial boom in the 1500s and 1600s, many polities in Southeast Asia were not far behind Europe in terms of socio-economic progress and attainments.
Few subjects elicit greater moral outrage than human trafficking. Media reports of dehumanizing practices such as slavery, abduction, child prostitution, and torture, along with shocking statistics, form the basis of public knowledge. Those who work closely with victims acknowledge the complexity of the issue, and it is this complexity, rather than loose statistics and conjecture, that deserves our attention. With sensitivity and candor, this book addresses the reality of human trafficking in Thailand, dissecting studies, presenting facts, and dismissing stereotypes. It focuses on the areas of fishing, agriculture, domestic work, sex work, and the trafficking of children, weaving individual narratives and official studies into the wider history of Thailand’s changing economy and labor situation. It also details how the Thai government has addressed the issue, reflects on the roots of human exploitation, and suggests a way forward. This book raises much-needed awareness of commonly held misconceptions and clarifies what we know and what we have yet to discover about the trafficking of persons to and from Thailand. Highlights • Concise and accessible study of the reality of human trafficking in Thailand • Thorough critical analysis of current policies and public discourse on trafficking • Details relevant Thai and international laws • Discusses the relationship between the modern economic system and exploitation • Analyzes the changing face of the Thai labor market and the impact of industrialization on the Thai population
With the acceleration of global migration, literature by migrant writers has emerged as a powerful medium for describing the ways in which global forces are experienced at the personal level. Migrant literature offers a compelling counter‐narrative to abstract visions of globalization, grounding large‐scale processes in real‐life stories of individuals. In Thailand, migrant writers have documented the social and cultural impacts of fifty years of rural‐urban migration through hundreds of stories, poems, and novels. Bangkok Bound is the first book to examine this body of literature and the messages that Thai migrant writers convey about their experiences. These stories powerfully describe the ways in which migrants who leave their homes bound for Bangkok are quickly bound to Bangkok through the transformative force of modern city life. And they show the ways in which those who remain behind in the village are transformed, too, as they struggle to maintain a rural way of life in a rapidly urbanizing world. Bangkok Bound will be of interest to anyone working on migration or urbanization, as well as to scholars of Thailand and Thai literature. Specialists in migration will find it a welcome addition to the growing field of migration studies through examination of narrative fiction. What others are saying “This is an engaging and authoritative study of literary representations of migration from the provinces to Bangkok based on wide reading of short stories written over the last four decades and interviews with major writers and critics. It will be of interest not only to students of literature, but also to anyone interested in social change in Thailand in the late twentieth century and the way that it has been perceived and recorded by local writers.” —David Smyth, SOAS, University of London Highlights - Useful for an introductory course on Thai or Southeast Asian studies; offers a springboard for conversations on development, rural‐urban inequality, migration, and the impacts of rapid urbanization in Asia - First book to examine the theme of migration in Thai literature, a significant contemporary genre - Contributes to the growing field of migration studies through examination of narrative fiction - Provides a window into how migration and urbanization are experienced at the personal level of interest to migration scholars as well as scholars of Thailand, Thai cultural studies, and Thai literature
Spanning over a millennium of history, this book seeks to describe and define the evolution of the China–Southeast Asia nexus and the interactions which have shaped their shared pasts. Examining the relationships which have proven integral to connecting Northeast and Southeast Asia with other parts of the world, the contributors of the volume provide a wide-ranging historical context to changing relations in the region today – perhaps one of the most intense re-orderings occurring anywhere in the world. From maritime trading relations and political interactions to overland Chinese expansion and commerce in Southeast Asia, this book reveals rarely explored connections across the China–Southeast Asia interface. In so doing, it transcends existing area studies boundaries to present an invaluable new perspective to the field. A major contribution to the study of Asian economic and cultural interactions, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Chinese history, as well as those engaged with Southeast Asia.
