RCSD invites all to attend a public seminar: Rethinking Ethnic Studies in Southeast Asia, from July 20-22, 2025 at the Faculty of Social Sciences First Floor Meeting Room (4107), Chiang Mai University,

This seminar is jointly organized by the School of Ethnology and Sociology, Yunnan University (YNU), and the Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD), with the participation of the Center for Ethnic Studies and Development, Chiang Mai University and hosted by the Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University.

Key participants include Wasan Panyagaew, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at CMU; He Ming, Dean of the School of Ethnology and Sociology at YNU; and Chayan Vaddhanaphuti, Director of RCSD. Other participants include Gam A. Shimray from the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), Suchart Setthamalinee from the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRC), and Catherine Baron from Toulouse University, France. Several scholars from Yunnan University, Chiang Mai University (including its Center for Ethnic Studies and Development – CESD, and Department of Sociology and Anthropology), Minzu University of China, Thammasat University, Dali University, Xiamen University, and Sorbonne Paris 1 University will also present.

The seminar will explore a range of topics within ethnic studies in Southeast Asia. Discussions will cover the Culture and Memory of Ethnic Lue in Thailand and Vietnam, the dynamics of Chinese Communities outside China focusing on Yunnan Studies in Thailand and Sino-Thai family businesses in Northern Thailand, and the Study of Lahu in both Thailand and China with case studies in Chiang Mai. Further sessions will delve into State and Ethnicity, examining historical exclusion of minorities in Cambodia and Thai state policies toward highlanders. The relationship between Ethnicity and Coffee in Doi Chang, Thailand will be explored, including comparative studies with Qingkou Village in China and the concept of “Ethnic Coffee Capitalism.” The seminar will also address Ethnicity and Society in Myanmar, touching upon anthropological research on rural society, the formation of plural societies in Colonial Burma, and the role of ethnic civil society. Finally, Cultural Sharing will be examined through a case study of Malaysia, focusing on heritage politics and the construction of shared cultural identity.