Thai studies, a branch of
Asian studies, is the multidisciplinary study of Thailand and the
Thai peoples. It calls upon the academic disciplines of
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
,
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
,
religious studies,
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
,
Thai language,
Thai literature
300px, ''Samut Thai'', a traditional medium for recordation and transmission of Thai and other literature in mainland Southeast Asia
Thai literature is the literature of the Thai people, almost exclusively written in the Thai language (althoug ...
,
musicology and the physical sciences such as geology.
The first organisation to sponsor and promote Thai Studies was the
Siam Society
The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage ( th, สยามสมาคมในพระบรมราชูปถัมภ์) was established in 1904 with a mission to promote knowledge of the culture, history, arts, and natural sciences of Thai ...
, established in 1904. The Siam Society and the affiliated Siamese Heritage Protection Trust maintain an extensive library of Thai studies materials and exhibits.
The ''
Journal of the Siam Society
The ''Journal of the Siam Society'' (JSS) is a scholarly journal published by the Siam Society in Bangkok since 1904.
History
The ''Journal of the Siam Society'' is published by The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage in Bangkok, Thailand. At t ...
'' (''JSS'') is a
peer-reviewed academic journal
An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...
.
Open access to
PDF copies of all issues back to 1904 is available online.
The Center for Thai Studies at
Chulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn University (CU, th, จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย, ), nicknamed Chula ( th, จุฬาฯ), is a public and autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally fo ...
is a Thai studies center. The Thailand Information Center (TIC) at Chulalongkorn's main library maintains a repository of research materials for Thai studies.
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
was the first active center for Thai studies in the United States. In 1947,
Lauriston Sharp began the
Cornell-Thailand Project, an initiative to collate baseline data in a comprehensive study of what was then a farming village on the outskirts of Bangkok, now
Tambon
''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district ('' amphoe'') and province ('' changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 '' khwaen ...
Bang Chan ( th, บางชัน) in Bangkok's
Khlong Sam Wa District Khlong Sam Wa ( th, คลองสามวา, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. It is bounded by other districts (from north clockwise): Lam Luk Ka district of Pathum Thani province, Nong Chok, Min Buri, Khan Na ...
().
Outside Thailand, a group of young, active academics at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) promoted Thai studies as a research discipline in social studies. The inaugural open-access ''Thai Studies Journal'' was launched at RMIT in 2011. RMIT hosted three Thai studies conferences in 2001, 2011, and 2014.
References
{{reflist
External links
The Thai Language at Cornell UniversityThe Siam SocietyThe 10th International Conference on Thai StudiesThe Thai Studies Center, Chulalongkorn UniversityThailand Information Center, Chulalongkorn Universitythaistudies.net, An international forum for students of Thailand based at Northern Illinois UniversityThai Studies at the University of WisconsinNational Thai Studies Centre located at the College of Asia and the Pacific in the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
The International Journal of Studies in Thai Business, Society & Culturehosted by the School of Management
RMIT University Australia
Southeast Asian studies
Thai culture