Wisdom, Knowledge, and the Postcolonial University in Thailand

This book examines Thai knowledge and wisdom from the perspective of postmodern, postcolonial globalization. Ma Rhea explores the ways in which the Thai university system attempts to balance old knowledge traditions, Buddhist and rural, with new Thai and imported knowledge. It traces the development of Thai university partnerships with outsiders, focusing on the seventy year relationship between Thailand and Australia. In comparison, it analyses the old Thai Buddhist wisdom tradition and in the final chapters proposes its worthiness as a pedagogical pathway for universities globally.

Lays out an epistemic map that helps in understanding the ramifications of the commodification of university knowledge Examines international, global, regionalist, and local Thai approaches to higher education Uses interview analysis to provide evidence of old and new exchanges among the education community in Thailand

Autorentext

Dr Ma Rhea has been involved in various social justice 'food movements' over the past 30 years beginning with her involvement with Indigenous Australian communities and other communities living in poverty. She was involved in a food cooperative in Bath in the early 1980s and then went to Spain and ran a vegetarian restaurant in Rhonda, Andalucía, Spain. Returning to Australia, she then undertook her PhD studies in Thailand, learning about food sustainability in the Asian context while living there. She now works at Monash University and teaches across Indigenous Education, Leadership, and Sustainability programs, undertaking research in Indigenous Education, Indigenous-Settler Studies, Food Studies, and Organisational Development. This book is an outcome of an 8 year ARC-funded research project.

Inhalt
PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Balancing New and Old PART II: INVESTIGATING WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE IN THE UNIVERSITY 2. Wisdom and Knowledge 3. The University PART III: KNOWLEDGE, "OUTSIDERS," AND THE MARKET 4. Old and New Exchange: Transitioning to a Modernity and Beyond 5. The Impact of Global Education Services Markets 6. The Influence of "Outsider" Knowledge on Thai Knowledge 7. Balancing Knowledge, Holding Wisdom PART IV: CONCLUSION 8. The Art of Adaptive Balancing.