From romance stories to amulet collecting, modern Buddhist installation art to the education of Buddhist nuns, these collected articles span twenty years of studying Thai art, literature, and material culture. This is certainly an eclectic collection. However, it is not a disconnected one. The introduction describes specific theoretical threads and research itineraries thus revealing how these articles speak to each other and to major developments in the field over this time. They also point to new directions towards which the field of Thai Studies can travel.

Contents

List of Images

1. Introduction: Cajoleries, Non-Human Ontology and the Importance of Thin Description in the Study of Thai Buddhist Stuff

2. Creative Engagement: The Sujavanna Wua Luang and Its Contribution to Buddhist Literature

3. Ethnicity and the Galactic Polity: Ideas and Actualities in the History of Bangkok

4. Beautifully Buddhist and Betrothed: Marriage and Buddhism as Described in the Jatakas

5. The Bird in the Corner of the Painting: Some Problems with the Use of Buddhist Texts to Study Buddhist Ornamental Art in Thailand

6. The Material Turn: An Introduction to Thai Sources for the Study of Buddhist Amulets

7. Strolling through Temporary Temples: Modern Buddhist Art Installations in Thailand

8. This Hindu Holy Man is a Thai Buddhist

9. Encountering Corpses: Notes on Zombies and the Living Dead in Buddhist Southeast Asia

10. Buddhist “Nuns” ( mae chi) and the Teaching of Pali in Contemporary Thailand

Bibliography
Index