Degrees and Courses

The Asian Studies Program at the University of Hawaii offers a major, minor, graduate certificate, and Masters of Arts in Asian Studies that allows students to focus on Thai Studies. The University of Hawaii at Manoa also provides many courses in various departments that focus on Thailand in support of these degree and certificate programs. Anthropology Southeast Asian Cultures Southeast Asian Archaeology Art History Art and Architecture of Thailand Art and Architecture of Mainland Southeast Asia Monuments and Nationalism in SE Asia Life and Body of the Buddha in the Art of SE Asia Reconsidering Theravada Buddhist Art History Asian Studies Introduction to Asian Studies Southeast Asian Literature in Translation Cinema of Thailand Cinema of Southeast Asia The Splendor that was Southeast Asia Research Seminar in Asian Studies Buddhist Studies Understanding Buddhism Anthropology of Buddhism Seminar on Buddhism Film Cinema of Thailand Cinema of SE Asia Geography Geography of Southeast Asia Seminar in Geography of Southeast Asia History Premodern History of Southeast Asia Modern History of Southeast Asia The World of the Mekong Historiography of Southeast Asia Seminar in Modern Southeast Asian History Political Science Politics of Southeast Asia Politics of Regions Religion Understanding Buddhism Sacred Places Spiritual Ecology Thai Language First-Level Thai Second-Level Thai Third-Level Thai Fourth-Level Thai Thai Language in the Media Readings in Thai Literature: The Short Story Readings in Thai Literature: The Novel Structure of Thai I and II

THAI STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA

Thai Language Program Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures Spalding 255, 2540 Maile Way University of Hawaii'i-Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 Tel: (808) 956-8672 Fax: (808) 956-5978 e-mail: yuphapha@hawaii.edu

www.hawaii.edu/thai

www.cseashawaii.org

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Thai Studies
A Brief History
Faculty at the University of Hawaii have been studying and teaching about Thailand for over half a century. Walter Vella taught courses on Thai history, trained Peace Corps volunteers bound for Thailand, and published an important monograph on Rama VI during the early 1960s. Fred Warren Riggs arrived short time later and published an important work on modernization of the Thai bureaucracy. The Thai language program was also established during the 1960s when Manas Chitakasem and Thomas Gething joined the university. From this strong foundation, Thai studies grew quickly during the 1970s and 1980s with the arrival of anthropologists Jack Bilmes and Leslie Sponsel who studied social interaction, Buddhism and ecology. The Thai language program also continued to flourish during this period as Thomas Gething was joined by Haigh Roop and M. R. Pongsuwan Thongyai Bilmes. A new generation of faculty arrived in the 21st century including scholars whose Thailand-focused research includes: language and linguistics, history, art history, environmental management and historic preservation.

Research and Exchange

Thailand is the focus of research in large number of departments at the University of Hawaii at Manoa with dissertations completed by students in Political Science, Education, Economics, Anthropology, Geography, Theater, Linguistics, Urban Planning, History, Sociology, Information Technology, Archaeology and Botany. University of Hawaii faculties also have numerous active research programs in Thailand and productive ties with Thai universities. Brian Szuster in the Department of Geography collaborates closely with faculty at Burapha University on research in tropical deltas and coastal zones. Archaeologist Miriam Stark has sponsored young Thai archaeologists and co-organized archaeological assessment workshops with colleagues at Silpakorn University. Yuphaphann Hoonchamlong served as a consultant and test developer for the Developing Thai National Standards in Thai Language Proficiency Project in collaboration with Chulalongkorn Universitys Sirindhorn Thai Language Institute (2008-2012). Richard Pratt in the Department of Political Science has also directed a public administration exchange program with Khon Kaen University. Language and linguistics research has been particularly active, and several prominent Thai scholars received their doctoral degrees at the University of Hawaii including: Dr. Pranee Kullavanijaya who established the Sirindhorn Thai Language Institute of Chulalongkorn University; Dr. Amara Prasithrathsint who has served on numerous Thai language committees of the Royal Institute; and Dr. Peansiri Ekniyom Vongvipanond who is a renowned scholar and former linguistics professor at Chulalongkorn University. Li Fang-kuei also produced his canonical study A Handbook of Comparative Tai while at the University of Hawaii; and Kamil Ud Deen has an ongoing research project on Thai language acquisition with Dr. Napasri Timyam of Kasetsart University who is also a UH alumna.

Language Instruction
The University of Hawaii at Manoa has one of the oldest and bestknown Thai language programs in the United States that offers beginning, intermediate, and advanced level courses every year. Additional courses are also offered to Thai heritage language learners emphasizing reading and writing skills. Undergraduate students can major in Thai and receive a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Thai Language. The University of Hawaii also confers a "certification of achievement" for undergraduate students focusing on Thai language study. The program currently has one full time professor and one part-time lecturer. The Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) awards a number of Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) scholarships for the study of Southeast Asian languages including Thai. Instruction takes place at the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute. CSEAS also awards summer FLAS scholarships to support Thai language study on location in Southeast Asia at Chulalongkorn University, Chiang Mai University, and Payap University. The Thai Language Program at the University of Hawaii has developed quality Thai language teaching materials that have been adopted for use at many institutions in the United States. Thomas Gething and Pongsuwan Bilmes produced the Thai Basic Reader in 1978 and Yuphaphann Hoonchamlong produced a textbook and multimedia CD-ROM titled Thai Language and Culture for Beginners. Funded by the US Department of Education and completed in 2007, this was the first new beginner-level Thai language textbook to be produced in the US in many years.

Core Faculty
Social Sciences and Humanities Kennon Breazeale - History (Aliate) Jack Bilmes - Anthropology (Emeritus) William Chapman - Historic Preservation Liam Kelley - History Paul Lavy - Art History Richard Pratt - Political Science Leslie Sponsel - Anthropology (Emeritus) Miriam Stark - Archaeology Brian Szuster - Geography Language and Linguistics Yuphaphann Hoonchamlong - Thai Language Shoichi Iwasaki - Thai Linguistics Chintana Takahashi - Thai Language Kamil Ud Deen - Thai Language Acquisition