Exploration and Irony in Studies of Siam over Forty Years

Studies on Southeast Asia #63

by Benedict Anderson

Benedict R. O'G. Anderson is internationally recognized for his groundbreaking work on the politics and cultures of Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. His early studies of Indonesia led to the publication of Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, a book that profoundly changed the way people understand modern states. Banned from returning to Indonesia after his interpretation of the 1965 coup was published, Anderson shifted his attention to Thailand. This collection of essays gathers in one book Anderson s iconoclastic analyses of Siam (Thailand), its political institutions and bloody upheavals, its literature, authors, and contemporary cinema.

The volume begins with the challenging essay "Studies of the Thai State: The State of Thai Studies," followed by chapters that map shifts of power between the Left and Right in Thailand, the role of the monarchy, and the significance of the military. The final essays track Anderson s own evolution as a student of Siam and his growing, more playful interest in billboards, ephemera, and film. Together, these works demonstrate an extraordinary scholar s commitment to exploring Thailand."

180 pages, Hardcover

Published July 15, 2014

About the author

Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson was Aaron L. Binenkorb Professor Emeritus of International Studies, Government & Asian Studies at Cornell University, and is best known for his celebrated book Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, first published in 1983. Anderson was born in Kunming, China, to James O'Gorman Anderson and Veronica Beatrice Bigham, and in 1941 the family moved to California. In 1957, Anderson received a Bachelor of Arts in Classics from Cambridge University, and he later earned a Ph.D. from Cornell's Department of Government, where he studied modern Indonesia under the guidance of George Kahin. He is the brother of historian Perry Anderson.

Reviews

[Smiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a belated newcomer interested in Ajahn Ben's books and legacy, I decided to read this 10-essay Cornell compilation after his A Life beyond Boundaries (Verso 2016) and The Fate of Rural Hell: Asceticism and Desire in Buddhist Thailand (Seagull Books 2016). It was my delight to read him, taking his "Author's Preface" like a kind advice/preamble and its 13-page introduction by Prof. Tamara Loos entitled, "Life Commitments: Ben Anderson's Scholarship on Thailand" since they have revealed innumerable information, background, contribution, etc. related to Prof. Benedict Anderson's academic life and work in which, I think, they might be seemingly mysterious to his global audiences due to their limited acquaintance, channel of contact or for some other reason. However, optimistically speaking, we would know him and better understand his books by visiting this site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedic... [Ajahn, an honorific Thai word used in front of a name to express honour and respect; the name belonging to a teacher, a professor, a Buddhist priest, etc. ]

One may inquire on the book title, that is, why forty years and when? This has long concerned with the social context dating back to the 1970s onward around the year he came to Thailand and witnessed the October 6 coup in 1976. Therefore, the years in question cover the year 1976 + 40 = 2016. As for its contents, its ten titles are for like-minded readers to browse as follows:

1. Studies of the Thai State: The State of Thai Studies
2. Withdrawal Symptoms: Social and Cultural Aspects of the October 6 Coup
3. Introduction to In the Mirror
4. Murder and Progress in Modern Siam
5. Radicalism after Communism in Thailand and Indonesia
6. Two Unsendable Letters
7. The Strange Story of a Strange Beast: Receptions in Thailand of Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Sat pralaat
8. Billboards, Statues, T-shirts: Revolving Ironies
9. Mundane History/ Jao nok krajok

Obviously, I think, there is something ambiguous regarding one's understanding on its front cover illustration due to a hidden Thai context; it indeed being a good ironic satire. I first came across this humourous color drawing one day a few months ago in a large bookstore in Bangkok and couldn't help being amused, it instantly reminded me of a well-known Thai idiom จระเข้ขวางคลอง (jorakhe khwang khlong), meaning someone doing something like a crocodile lying across a canal. I think while this publication was in the process of being complete, the author having known this satirical idiom from his Thai colleagues, friends, locals, etc. presumably shared his idea to the cover designer.

Yesterday evening (2019.10.14), it was my delight to read Chapter 11 (pp. 78-87) in Prof. Kasian Tejapira's เกาะบ่าครูเบ็น ส่องเลนส์ดูโลก (On Ben Anderson's Shoulders) (กรุงเทพมหานคร: มูลนิธิโครงการตำราสังคมศาสตร์และมนุษยศาสตร์, 2560) with better understanding when I saw more light from reading the chapter entitled "โปรเฟสเซอร์จระเข้ขวางคลอง" and the 9-page content in Thai in which Ajahn Ben has, humorously, ironically and literally, compared himself to such a crocodile! My misunderstanding was that I thought he had sent some messages to Thai historians so please forgive me.

As for my Thai Goodreads friends, you may read the translated versions from Essays 1, 2 and 4
as published in เบเนดิกท์ แอนเดอร์สัน. ศืกษารัฐไทย ย้อนสภาวะไทยศืกษา. (นนทบุรี: ฟ้าเดียวกัน, 2558); the three Essays entitled in Thai as follows:
บทที่ 1 ศืกษารัฐไทย วิพากษ์ไทยศืกษา
บทที่ 2 บ้านเมืองเราลงแดง: แง่มุมทางสังคมและวัฒนธรรมของรัฐประหาร 6 ตุลาคม
บทที่ 3 ฆาตกรรมกับความก้าวหน้าในสยามยุคใหม่

Interestingly, I found reading Essay 3 Introduction to 'In the Mirror' arguably tough to follow his narratives on those 12 writers whose short stories in Thai published in the American Era (1963-1973) were selected by himself, translated into English by Ruchira C. Mendiones, published and entitled "In the Mirror: Literature and Politics in Siam in the American Era" (Ithaca, New York: Southeast Asia Program Publications, 1985) (https://www.amazon.com/Mirror-Literat...) Incidentally, it was my delight to buy its Thai version at the Book Expo XXIV Thailand 2019 held between October 3-13, hoping to do a comparative reading between the above-mentioned and the Thai one, that is, เบเนดิกท์ แอนเดอร์สัน. ในกระจก วรรณกรรมและการเมืองสยามยุคอเมริกัน. (กรุงเทพฯ: อ่าน, 2553).

To continue . . .

[WaldenOgre · Rating 3 out of 5]

本尼迪克特·安德森的洞察力毋庸置疑，但问题在于，这本书中五花八门的文体似乎并不是用来观察和分析他所关注的议题的最佳载体。首要的短板，就是它们的篇幅太小了，不足以容纳完整细致的论述。尤其是书末他从泰国的社会政治领域转向文化观察的那几篇文章，坦白讲我读起来是略有些挣扎的。虽然这类跨界写作确实自带一种独特的视角，可我也倾向于认为，这并不是本尼迪克特·安德森最擅长的写作形式。