Doctoral Dissertation Research: Religion and Gender Identity in Northern Thailand

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University of Chicago doctoral candidate Michael Chladek, supervised by Dr. Jennifer Cole, will research how religious practices may contribute to gender identity development in northern Thai society particularly in terms of how Western concepts of gender and identity are affecting local understandings of masculinity. He will explore the impact of changing notions of manhood on the institution of Buddhist monasticism, which is only open to men in Thailand. The findings will contribute to a deeper understanding of religion, gender, and social change more broadly. The project will involve 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, two northern provinces of Thailand. The researcher will conduct participant observations at two schools for novice monks, conducting in-depth interviews with monks about their everyday lives to understand how Buddhist monasticism may shape their experience of being men. To understand the general relationship between monasticism and manhood, the researcher will conduct interviews with lay Buddhists in the area; he will analyze news articles, books, and other media; and he will participate in local events concerning the issues of gender and monastic ordination, conducting in-depth interviews with key people involved in these discussions. This research will contribute a social science perspective on how globalization may impact local gender roles and understandings of manhood, especially regarding the role of religious practice in shaping ideas about gender and will deepen our understanding of how new meanings of gender and identity arise and take hold within societies. This project also contributes to the training of a graduate student.