Charnvit K. by R. Ileto1. 10/10/2011 AjarnCharnvit AbriefstudyofaThaihistorian-activist byhisformerclassmate, ReynaldoIleto ThaihistorianCharnvitKasetsiri •Bornin1941ofaprovincial politicalfamily,groomedto becomeanambassador, wasrecruitedbytheThai ForeignMinistry •DidhisMAattheelite OccidentalCollegein California •Becamedisillusionedbythe Thaigovernment’ssupport fortheUSwarinVietnam •Resignedhiscivilservice positionin1967toenrollin thePhDinSoutheastAsian HistoryatCornell. Charnvitandhissupervisor, OliverWoltersatCornell,1968 (throughthehiddencameraof classmateReyIleto) 1 2. 10/10/2011 Education 1963B.A.Diplomacy(Honors),ThammasatUniversity, Bangkok 1967M.A.Diplomacy,OccidentalCollege,LosAngeles 1972Ph.D.inSoutheastAsianHistory,CornellUniversity (minorinPoliticsandGovernment) Employment 1973-2001Lecturer:HistoryDepartment,Thammasat University. 1981-83Head:HistoryDepartment,ThammasatUniversity 1982-85DeputyDirector:ThaiKhadiInstitute,Thammasat 1983-88ViceRector:ThammasatUniversity 1991-94Dean:FacultyofLiberalArts,Thammasat 1994-95Rector(President):ThammasatUniversity SomepublicationsinEnglish(mostareinThai) •TheRiseofAyudhya:AHistoryofSiamintheFourteenth andFifteenthCenturies,KualaLumpur:OxfordUP,1976. •ThaiPolitics:1932-1957,ThakChaleomtiarana,ed., (CharnvitKasetsiriandThinaphanNakhata,contributors), Bangkok:SocialSciencesAssociationofThailand,1978. •“ThaiHistoriographyfromAncientTimestotheModern Period,”inAnthonyReidandDavidMarr,eds.,Perceptions ofthePastinSoutheastAsia,1979 •Bibliography:SoutheastAsianStudiesinThailand,compiled withT.PetchlertananandS.Saiyawong,1991. •"Thai-Burmese-Lao-CambodianBorders:ASurveyReport," tr.byC.Tingsbadh,SoutheastAsianNetworkBulletin, December1992. •“Thailand-Cambodia:ALove-HateRelationship,”Kyoto ReviewofSoutheastAsia,No.3,March2003. •“WilltheMekongSurviveGlobalization”,KyotoReviewof SoutheastAsia,No.4,October2003. 2 3. 10/10/2011 •"Iconsidermyselfasa SoutheastAsianistandI connectedmyselfwith majoreventsinSoutheast Asia.” •Bornin1941,theyearof PearlHarbor.Hishome townisafewkilometers fromthecampwherethe Japanesecametobuild the“DeathRailroad”and bridgeontheRiverKwai. •Retiredin2001,sameyear astheWorldTradeCenter collapse.“Ihaveseenboth PearlHarborinHawaiiand GroundZeroinNYC.” Sharingexperiencesata workshopoftheNUS SoutheastAsianStudies Program,November2004 Familyandeducationalbackground •Camefromconservativebackground.Uppermiddle classfamily.Wenttoatopsecondaryschoolandto ThammasatUniversity,forhisBAinDiplomacy;gotthe highestmarkandwasawardedtheKing’sprize. •ThegreatgrandsonofthefamousmissionaryDrBradley (whofailedtoconvertmanyThais)cametoseehimin 1965togivehimaRockefellerscholarship(tryingto converthim?). •ThewarinIndochinamadeitsoeasyyinThailand,,beingg anally,togetascholarshiptoAmerica. •HeresignedfromtheForeignAffairsministrytogoto America,butwasstillinthecivilservice,intendingto returntobecomeambassadororsomething. 3 4. 10/10/2011 “TimeandSpace”contextofour experience •GraduatedfromThammasatin1963,workedinBangkok CityHallandMinistryofForeignAffairs.Thenhewas offeredascholarshiptoAmericaforfurtherstudies. •TheAmericanswerewagingwarinIndochina,pouringin aidandmoneytotheirallies,likeThailand.Soeasyto getascholarship.[Weweren’tnecessarilythebestand brightest.] •HewasacceptedfirstbytheUniversityofthePhilippines (UP).UPinthe1960swasoneofthetopinSoutheast Asia.ManyThammasatfacultymembersareUP graduates,mainlyinEconomics. •HehadaSEATO(SEATreatyOrganization)granttogo toUP,butjustbeforehelefttheRockefellergrantcame. •Nowstudentsarecomplainingit’ssodifficultforthemto gooverseas.Adifferentsituationitwasbackthen. Americansojourn,1965-73 •ArrivedinAmericainJuly1965,atthetimetheWatts [racial]riotsinLosAngelesweretakingplace,which shockedandconfusedhim. •Wenttoaveryconservativesmallcollege-Occidental college-arecruitinggroundforCIA;hadCIAfriends;his friends’fatherswereclosetotheKingofThailand. •ProfoundlyaffectedbytheescalatingwarinIndochina, Tonkinresolution.Ablackfriendtoldhimthewarwas mostbarbaric.TheBurmeseUThant,secretarygeneral oftheUNhadsaidthattoo. •WasintheUSfrom1965toearly1973(totalof7years) •Thosedaysifyouwereoverseasyoucan’tgohome often.Heonlywenthometwice.Thushewasembedded inAmericansocietyatthattime. 4 5. 10/10/2011 StudiesinAmericagavehimaclearerview ofSoutheastAsia,exposedlies •“WhatIfoundinAmericawasshocking.”Going toAmericaexposedthe“lies”theywerefed locallyinBangkok. •BeforeIarrivedinCaliforniahewenttherewitha beliefinthemythofapeacefulandintegrative [Thai]society.Foundoutbylate60sthat AmericanswerebombingVietnam“butwein Thailanddidn’tknow.” •Hecouldn’tbelieveatfirstthatThaiswere implicatedinbombingoftheirneighbors. “Studentactivismchangedmefromwantingtobe anambassador(studydiplomacy)tostudying SoutheastAsiabecauseofthewar. Cornellanti-warrally,1969 5 6. 10/10/2011 CornellYears-DiscoveringSoutheastAsia viaAmerica •“In1967IgraduatedMAinLosAngeles,wenttoCornell, theremetReyIleto,freshfromaconvent,theAteneo.” •ProbablywasthefirstThaitotakeIndonesianlanguage, aswellasBurmese.Becameinterestedinneighboring countries,cultures,languages,whileinAmerica. •“DiscoveredSoutheastAsiaviaAmerica” •SpentyearsatCornell.StudiedunderDGEHall,Wolters, Kahin,Wyatt,Anderson.Theywereourteachers,our mentors,andmanybecameourfriends. •KahinpreferredtobecalledGeorge.ButCharnvitcouldn’t say“George,”exceptwhenKahinwasadvisertoGeorge McGovern(GeorgespeakingtoGeorgewasconfusing) whoranforPresidentagainstNixon. •McGovernlost,andCharnvitandhisfriendswere “heartbroken.” “IwentwithReyto demonstrateinfrontof theWhiteHouse.He hadhiswhite headband,thisguy.” CharnvitinWashingtonDC,1970,withFilipino studentBelindaAquino 6 7. 10/10/2011 “Thingshappenedbyaccident…” •…IneverheardofCornellUniversity.Itwaschosenby somebodyelse.Iwasbeinggroomedforadiplomatic career.SwitchedfromdiplomacytoSoutheastAsian studies.Ididn’tknowwhatSEAStudieswas.Weall wantedAmericanstudiesorEuropeanstudies… •IdiscoveredSoutheastAsiainAmerica,theninJapan. •Americaneducationwasweakontheory.Ibought Toynbee,Ilookedatitforafewminutes,butcouldn’t readbeyondfirstfewpages. •OnlyE.H.Carr’s“WhatisHistory”captivatedhim. •Knowsnothingaboutdeconstructionism,etc.,but experiencesensitizedhimtotheconstructednature ofknowledge. SoutheastAsiawasmeaningfulinthecontextofthe1960’s warandstudentactivisminthe1970’s. “IgraduatedandthenIwenthome,andneverreturnedtothe MinistryofForeignAffairs.IstayedatThammasat,inthe middleofwhereeverythingwashappening,notfarfromthe governmenthouse… Threebigeventspeoplealwaysreferto,thathelivedthrough: 1.October1973studentuprising,whenthemilitary governmentcollapsed. 2.October6,1976,whenthemilitarycamebackforabrief periodupto1992.“BeinginThammasatyoucan’tescape it.”EversincehecamebackfromAmericahewasinvolved withstudents.Whenthe1976massacrehappenedhewas viceRector;hehadtorunawaytotheKyotoUniversity CenterforSoutheastAsianStudies. 3.May1992uprising,whenGeneralSuchindasteppeddown, leadingtodemocraticreforms. 7 8. 10/10/2011 Charnvit’sgenerationencountered SoutheastAsianstudiesfromtheoutside •“MyexperienceofSoutheastAsiaisfromAmerica,butalso fromJapan.ThepioneerYoneoIshii.BeingwithJapanese scholarsconnectedmewiththeToyotaFoundation,which promotedSoutheastAsianstudiesinSoutheastAsia. •HevisitedallthecountriesinSoutheastAsia,including EastTimor.TheToyotaFoundationencouragedcrossing boundaries,whiletheAmericanexperiencehadturned themintoone-countryscholars. •Intheearly1980shisgroupcametoSingaporeandthat’s howhebecameacquaintedwithSoutheastAsianStudies inSingapore. •MyexperienceofSoutheastAsianstudiesisviatheUSA andJapanandviamyexperiencewithstudentactivismin Thailandplusthekindofactivitiestopromoteawarenessof SoutheastAsiainThailand.[Endtrack] ThaischolarsandColonialDomination SoIdiscoveredSoutheastAsiabywayoftheUSAand Japanplusmyinvolvementwithwhat’shappeningin Thailandnow. •Iconsidermyselfandmostofthe[SoutheastAsia] programasanAmericanproductinsomefunnyway. •OnthequestionReyraisedwhetherinThailandweare uncomfortablewiththequestionofAnglo-American domination,thesituationinThailandmightbeabit different.WemightbeabituncomfortablewithEuropean dominationofThaistudies,forexample,Coedesandthe Frenchdominatingsomethemes. •Butabitdifferent…SomeofusareagainstCoedesor againstsomeotherfarang’s(foreigner’s)interpretationof SoutheastAsianstudiesinordertobecriticalofour establishment.Mainlyameansofbeingcriticalofthe Royalorofficialdominationofscholarship.Wegoagainst theWestinordertoattackBangkokdomination. 8 9. 10/10/2011 Woodside Steinberg DavidWyatt(left)–the Cornellhistorianwho Wyatt wroteRoyalty-centered history Whythelanguageofscholarshipmatters •“Idon’tknowwhetherIndonesiaandThailand mightbesimilar.Wewriteinourofficial languages.ThePhilippinesandSingaporeare morecomparable[i.e.scholarswriteinEnglish]. •WhenyoutalkaboutAnglo-Americanor Europeandominationofscholarshipin SoutheastAsia,thisisdeterminedby dependenceoncertainlanguages. •InmycasewhenIwriteandspeakinThaiIam notdominatedbyAnglo-AmericanorEuropean scholarship. 9 10. 10/10/2011 CharnvitisnotanotherMaungHtinAung •“ItakewhatisusefulfromDGEHall.Idisregardhis argumentswithMaungHtinAung. •IorganizedtranslationofCoedesbookandarticlesinto Thai.Selective.Hall’sHistoryistranslatedintoThai,third printing. •NotthesamesituationasinBurmawhenMaungHtin AungasvicechancellorofUniversityofRangoonhadto comeoutagainstDGEHall’sinterpretationoftheAnglo- Burmesewars. •AspresidentofThammasatIwouldn’tdreamofattacking HallorWolters. •Chanida’sMAthesisisagainstroyalhegemony.WhenI writeandspeakinThaiwearenotdominatedby Westernscholarship.ThesituationinThailandmaybe differentfromelsewhere. SoutheastAsiaawarenessinSEA •“OnwhetherSoutheastAsia[consciousness] existsinSoutheastAsia-maybe.Manyofour studentsareinterestedinBurma.Although retiredIstillhavealmost400studentsdoing SoutheastAsianstudies.Manyaretaking IndonesianandBurmeselanguages. •“SoutheastAsia”hasaweakexistencestillin Thailand.ThesameasintherestofSoutheast Asia.Wereliedonoldfriends[toestablishSE Studies],wemetinUSandJapan,etc.Wetried tocreateaSoutheastAsianunity.Butstillquite weak. •Nationallybound,nationally-concerned scholarshipisstillwithus. 10 11. 10/10/2011 Activistscholarship •“IwasinvolvedinstudentpoliticsatThammasat andgotkickedout.ReyIletowentbackandhad alltheadventuresatUP[Universityofthe Philippines]untilhegotout.TaufikAbdullahwas involvedinpolitics;hewasshelvedatonetime atLIPI. •“Insomewaysournations,includingThailand, areverynewandalotofthingsarevery unsettled.Wehavebecomeinvolvedinourown problems,locallyandnationally. [endtrack] Challengingofficialviewsofregionalties •Involvementinstudentmovementbychancewhenhe cameback.TheknowledgehehadcollectedinUSwas anattempttorejecttheofficialunderstandingofThai societyandThailand’srelationswithitsneighbors. •ThisknowledgechangedthewayoflookingatThai societyandThailand’sneighbors.Challengedtheidea thatbeingnevercolonizedtheyaredifferent.[influence ofBenAnderson]Wearedifferent,weareunique,but wehavealotofthingsincommonwiththeFilipino,the Singaporean,theBurmese,etc.BlacklistedbyBurmese government. •Togiveanalternative,unofficialversionofThaihistoryof SoutheastAsia.[hedidn’tgetthisfromWyatt] •BurningofThaiembassyinPhnomPenh(in2003)led himtowriteinThaiexplainingthecomplexhistoryof mutualattitudesbetweenThaiandKhmer. 11 12. 10/10/2011 “InterdisciplinaryAreaStudies,theysay,is likechopsuey… •Youputinthisandthatbutyouhavenodiscipline.Inaway, Yes,but…No. •BenedictAndersoncameupwiththeorybecauseofhisarea studyexperience.Heisoneofthefewwhocancrossthe boundaries.MovementfromIndonesiatoThailandandto Philippines–duetohisexperience,hecameupwiththe bookImaginedCommunities. •BenisfluentinFilipinonow.HelecturesinThaiinThailand. Hehascrossedtheboundaries.OurgoodprofessorWolters also,becauseofhisChineselanguage,enabledhimto crossfromVietnamtoAyuthayatoAngkor.Languageis important. •ThebooksofHobsbawmandAndersonaremuchin demandfortranslation. “Thingshappenedbyaccident…” •…IneverheardofCornellUniversity.Itwaschosenby somebodyelse.Iwasbeinggroomedforadiplomatic career.SwitchedfromdiplomacytoSoutheastAsian studies.Ididn’tknowwhatSEAStudieswas.Weall wantedAmericanstudiesorEuropeanstudies… •IdiscoveredSoutheastAsiainAmerica,theninJapan. •Americaneducationwasweakontheory.Ibought Toynbee,Ilookedatitforafewminutes,butcouldn’t readbeyondfirstfewpages. •OnlyE.H.Carr’s“WhatisHistory”captivatedhim. •Knowsnothingaboutdeconstructionism,etc.,but experiencesensitizedhimtotheconstructednature ofknowledge. 12 13. 10/10/2011 Onmergingtheorywithexperience. •Localeventsinformedhisthinking.Thetimeand theperiodmatter–Charnvitlivedthroughthe 1973studentmovementand1976coup. •Weofourgenerationwhowentoverseas,we encounteredthespecterofcomparison. •RizalandChulalongkornbelongedtosame generation.WhynotputRizal’spictureonthe coveroftheThaitranslationofNolimeTangere? •Wearetooconcernedwithourownnational problems.AsWolterssaidtoTaufik:thisisa timetounderstandSoutheastAsia.To understandSoutheastAsiaistounderstand ourselvesaswell. Rector(President)ofThammasat,1994-5 Alldressedupto meettheKingon Commencement Day,27July1994 13