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Degrees and Courses
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: [email protected]
www.hawaii.edu/thai
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 STUDIESUNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MAN
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 AsiaThe 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
www.cseashawaii.org
http://www.hawaii.edu/thaihttp://www.hawaii.edu/thaihttp://www.hawaii.edu/thaihttp://www.hawaii.edu/thaihttp://www.hawaii.edu/thaihttp://www.hawaii.edu/thaihttp://www.hawaii.edu/thaihttp://www.hawaii.edu/thaihttp://www.hawaii.edu/thaihttp://www.hawaii.edu/thaihttp://www.hawaii.edu/thaihttp://www.hawaii.edu/thaihttp://www.hawaii.edu/thaihttp://www.hawaii.edu/thai
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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 Sponselwho 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.
Social Sciences and Huma
Kennon Breazeale - History (
Jack Bilmes - Anthropology (
William Chapman - Historic P
Liam Kelley - History
Paul Lavy - Art History
Richard Pratt - Political Scien
Leslie Sponsel - AnthropologMiriam Stark - Archaeology
Brian Szuster - Geography
Language and Linguistics
Yuphaphann Hoonchamlong
Shoichi Iwasaki - Thai Lingui
Chintana Takahashi - Thai La
Kamil Ud Deen - Thai Langua
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
researchprograms 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
whoestablished 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.
experience
The University of Hawaii at Manoa has one of the oldest and
best-
known 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 r eceive a B.A. in I
nterdisciplinary
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 i n many years.
A Brief HistoryLanguage Instruction
Research and Exchange
Core Faculty
Thai Studies
