Learning to Govern: Disipline, ritual, and political networks at an elite Thai school

学习治理：泰国精英学校的纪律、仪式和政治网络

• 批准号: ES/Y007689/1
• 负责人: Daniel Whitehouse
• 金额: $ 14.58万
• 依托单位: School of Oriental and African Studies
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FY007689%2F1
• 关键词: Learning; Govern; Disipline; ritual; political

My research explores how elite educational institutions create and maintain influential political networks in contemporary Thailand. During my fellowship I will publish an institutional ethnography of Suan Kularb Wittayalai, Thailand's oldest state-administered secondary school and alma mater to seven prime ministers. Drawing on twelve month's fieldwork at the school, as well as extensive historical archival analysis, Learning to Govern: Ritual, Discipline and Political Networks at an Elite Thai school, sheds light on the complex process through which this 'network institution' encourages and consolidates intimate political cliques across the military, bureaucracy, and commercial sectors. Specifically, I show that the dominance of elite networks in the Thai political order is not an expression of traditional patronage models. Rather, such relations have been consciously facilitated by the modern state through the gradual adoption of certain colonial technologies. These technologies include novel mechanisms of surveillance, invented tradition, and disciplinary practices. When integrated with local pedagogic practices, these technologies generate life-long sentiments of fraternal obligation, which are utilized by elite networks to neutralize threats to the prevailing political order. Understanding these institutional practices elucidates and demystifies what some analysts have called Thailand's 'parallel' (Chambers and Napisa, 2020) or 'deep' state (Mérieau, 2016). Exploring themes of colonialism, kinship, violence, and memory, the book is a testament to the unexamined influence of elite schools and the profound impact they have on the lives of their privileged alumni. It will be published by Cornell University Press. During the fellowship, I will also continue to collaborate with civil groups campaigning to reform these colonialist practices in Thai education. In October 2020, the Thai government declared a 'severe state of emergency' when thousands of student protesters took to the streets demanding sweeping reforms. Through artistic workshops and virtual interaction with members of these groups, I will facilitate the co-production of an open access Thai language e-book that uses images, engaging characters, and graphic novel techniques to map the genealogy of Thai educational practices. The project will provide a safe environment for experimentation and discussion of member's experiences of education and ideas for reform that will reach new audiences and allow stakeholders to gain fresh perspectives on a highly topical issue. The project will also provide the basis for a journal article based on the findings and observations that arise from the collaboration. This combination of academic and popular publications, both in Thai and English, makes this project particularly effective in achieving full research impact.I will allocate 25% of my fellowship to disseminating my research to academic and non-academic audiences. As a former broadcast journalist in Thailand, I am well placed to deliver a series of media interventions to engage public interest in my work, which will feature on a major Thai-language national news program, Talking Thailand, and a popular Anglophone podcast produced by the Nordic Asian Institute. I will present my work in lectures and workshops among specialists at Cornell University, National University of Singapore, Leeds University, Thammasat, SOAS. I will also present papers at the American Anthropological Association in November 2023 and the Euroseas Conference in July 2024. Through this combination of impactful publications, knowledge exchange, direct user engagement, and effective dissemination, I will establish myself as a successful researcher working across the anthropologies of power, elites, education, and Southeast Asian studies.

我的研究探讨了精英教育机构如何在当代泰国创造和维持有影响力的政治网络。在我的奖学金期间，我将出版一本关于Suan Kularb Wittayalai的机构民族志，Suan Kularb Wittayalai是泰国最古老的国立中学，也是七位总理的阿尔马母校。借鉴12个月的实地考察在学校，以及广泛的历史档案分析，学习治理：在精英泰国学校的统治，纪律和政治网络，揭示了这个“网络机构”鼓励和巩固亲密的政治派系在军事，官僚和商业部门的复杂过程。具体来说，我表明，在泰国的政治秩序中的精英网络的主导地位是不是传统的赞助模式的表达。相反，现代国家通过逐渐采用某些殖民技术，有意识地促进了这种关系。这些技术包括新的监视机制、发明的传统和纪律实践。当与当地的教学实践相结合时，这些技术产生了终生的兄弟义务感，精英网络利用这种情感来消除对现行政治秩序的威胁。了解这些制度实践可以阐明和揭开一些分析师称之为泰国的“平行”（Chambers和Napisa，2020）或“深层”状态（Mérieau，2016）。这本书探讨了殖民主义、亲属关系、暴力和记忆等主题，证明了精英学校未经审查的影响力，以及它们对特权校友生活的深远影响。它将由康奈尔大学出版社出版。在奖学金期间，我还将继续与民间团体合作，争取改革泰国教育中的这些殖民主义做法。2020年10月，泰国政府宣布进入“严重紧急状态”，数千名学生抗议者走上街头，要求全面改革。通过艺术研讨会和虚拟互动与这些团体的成员，我将促进共同制作一个开放获取的泰语电子书，使用图像，引人入胜的人物，和图形小说技术来绘制泰国教育实践的家谱。该项目将为试验和讨论成员的教育经验和改革想法提供一个安全的环境，这将接触到新的受众，并使利益攸关方能够就一个高度热门的问题获得新的观点。该项目还将为基于合作中的发现和观察的期刊文章提供基础。这种学术和流行出版物的结合，无论是在泰国和英语，使这个项目特别有效地实现全面的研究影响。我将分配我的奖学金的25%，以传播我的研究，以学术和非学术观众。作为泰国的一名前广播记者，我有能力提供一系列媒体干预措施，以吸引公众对我的工作的兴趣，这将在一个主要的泰语国家新闻节目Talking Thailand和一个受欢迎的英语播客上播出。我将在康奈尔大学、新加坡国立大学、利兹大学、法政大学、SOAS的专家讲座和研讨会上介绍我的工作。我还将在2023年11月的美国人类学协会和2024年7月的欧洲海洋会议上发表论文。通过这种有影响力的出版物，知识交流，直接用户参与和有效传播的结合，我将成为一名成功的研究人员，在权力，精英，教育和东南亚研究的人类学中工作。