DaveyG

In conclusion then, culture is a mix of different things in every society. I just feel when people get too attached to it it can become dangerous, for example the temple situation, the PADs rally the other night and the song 'Cambodian's out', the dispute isn't actually about the temple but oil just south of it, most Thais think it's about losing Thai soil, which wasn't even theirs in the first place.

discus2000

but then your equating culture with nationalism/protectionism... is that really fair?

a blend of institutional (Scott, North, etc.) and cultural (Hofstede, etc.) theories could prove useful to understand life as it is...

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Bloody Hell! It can't be that difficult!


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zehner

can i have a latte/mocca then please james?

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discus2000

no!

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Bloody Hell! It can't be that difficult!


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WilliamBlake

Medieval Europe, where it was used to signify that the 'kniggits' (as it was pronounced in Chaucer's time) were not carrying a weapon in their hand.

Well of course the aquaducts. I mean the aquaducts go without saying, don' they?

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LeedsLeedsLeeds

....but apart from that what have the Romans ever done for us?

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Southern Oil Palm and Rubber Plantations:


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Johnh

From Wikipedia

Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate")[1] generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance. Cultures can be "understood as systems of symbols and meanings that even their creators contest, that lack fixed boundaries, that are constantly in flux, and that interact and compete with one another"[2]
Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called "the way of life for an entire society."[3] As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, norms of behavior such as law and morality, and systems of belief as well as the art.
Cultural anthropologists most commonly use the term "culture" to refer to the universal human capacity and activities to classify, codify and communicate their experiences materially and symbolically. Scholars have long viewed this capacity as a defining feature of humans (although some primatologists have identified aspects of culture such as learned tool making and use among humankind's closest relatives in the animal kingdom).[4]

I recall reading that the Thai phrase for culture, 'wattanathum Thai' (sic), is a relatively new addition to the Thai lexicon. I think it was coined by Rama V, or one of his close advisors, after Rama V had visited Europe and become enamoured by many things Western, least of all the West's pride in history, art and liturature. Interestingly, Rama V also 'invented' the word 'sivilai', which means civilised. This was part of an attempt to show the West that the Thai people, far from being uncultured and uncivilised, indeed, had a proud and rich cultural heritage of their own. However, the relative dearth of properly academic and accurate cutural/ historical research and literature and its importance within the Thai education system and general population, then and even today, would seem to undermine the attempt to establish a true understanding of what is Thai culture.

Add to this, that some histories of Thailand have been fabricated, Loy Krathong coming from the Sukothai period being one, as a propagandist attempt to inculcate a national sense of identity.

Fellow posters on this site, who have attended the Thai culture course for teachers can attest to the fallacy and, indeed, an often false representation of Thai culture. And this course has been put together by those who you think should and would know better. Ho hum!

LeedsLeedsLeeds

Show me a country that hasn't fabricated their history at some point. History is written by the victors as they say.

Next you'll be telling me that pasta is Chinese.

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robitusson

There are degrees of fabrication LLL. N'est ce pas?

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LeedsLeedsLeeds

Mais Oui.

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samsara

amen, rob.

WilliamBlake

Or that the Statue of Liberty is French.

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MisterStretch

Well, according to American law anyone born on US soil or to a citizen of America is automatically a United States citizen. The King was born in Boston, if I recall correctly, qualifying him to be a US citizen. I have no idea of whether or not he carries a US passport. It seems unlikely though as I don't think the US allowed dual citizenship when he turned 21.

I like the OP. Not because it's "Thai bashing", but because it is thought-provoking.

I think I understand what DaveyG is trying to say. Too often we hear that "This is Thai culture. Pure Thai culture" or something to that effect and in reality many of the things that Thais hold dear are from somewhere else.

That doesn't make them any less Thai now, just not purely Thai.

What is a culture but an amalgamation of living styles, food, music, family, education, etc. For good or bad (and all cultures have both) the Thais believe what they have is Thai culture.

The fact that some of it came from somewhere else doesn't negate the fact that it's part of their cultural fabric now.