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Book Launch “Love, Money and Obligation” by Patcharin Lapanun
24 September, 2019 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Globalization means transnational marriages and intimacies become increasingly viable options for women and men. In Southeast Asia too, transnational marriages are rising due to a combination of factors including increased population mobility and changing lifestyles. The book to be launched at SEA Junction on 24 September at 6PM explores the marriages of Thai women with ‘farang’ (foreign) men.
Authored by anthropologist Patcharin Lapanun and published in 2019 by the National University of Singapore (NUS) Press, “Love, Money and Obligation” tells the sentiments and life stories of women and men engaging in transnational relationships. In doing so, it highlights how these are shaped and reshaped by love, money and gender obligations on the one hand and the dynamics of socio-cultural and historical contexts on the other.
Transnational marriages challenge gender relations, perceptions of sexuality, marriage and family as well as existing class divisions in rural Thai communities. Working in depth in one particular community in Northeast Thailand, and so focusing on the “local end” of these transnational connections, Patcharin sees these families as comprising a new social class, as determined by their distinctive consumption patterns and life styles, which challenges village hierarchical structure. Her in-depth examination highlights the importance of women’s agency and the strength and creativity of people seeking to forge meaningful lives in the processes of social transition and in the face of local and global encounters.
At the launch, the author will present her book discussing social impact of transnational marriages on the village and the women themselves. There will also be limited copies of the book available for sale and Patcharin will be glad to sign them if so desired.
NB: The text is an adaptation of the NUS description at:
See also the review in the South China Morning Post: https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3016519/western-men-who-marry-thai-isaan-women-examined-love-money
Book Info
Publication Year: 2019
208 pages, 229mm x 152mm
1 map, 6 tables, 11 b/w photos
Paperback
ISBN: 978-981-4722-91-9
Author’s Bio
Patcharin Lapanun is a lecture in Sociology and Anthropology at Khon Kaen University, Thailand. She earned her PhD in Anthropology from Vrije University Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Her research interests include gender and development, migration and ‘the left-behind’; transnational marriage and migration, global care regime. Patcharin’s recent book “Love, Money and Obligations: Transnational Marriage in a Northeastern Thai Village” (2019 – National University of Singapore Press) explores the complexities of Thai-woman and Western-men marriages, as well as consequences of such marriages on the dynamics of rural Thai communities, especially in terms of gender, class and family. She is also a co-author “Cross-Cultural Marriage: Stage of Knowledge” (2007-Thai Language) and “Village-based Silk Production in Transition, Northeast Thailand” (2012 – White Lotus Press). Her recent research articles in academic journals and books include “Masculinity, Marriage and Migration: Farang Migrant Men in Thailand” (2018, Asian Journal of Social Science); “Masculinity, Matrilineality and Transnational Marriage” (2018, Journal of Mekong Society); “Mia farang: An Emergence of a New ‘Class’ in (Rural) Thai Society” (2015 – Thai language, a chapter in a book “Culture is Power” published by Chiang Mai University); “It’s Not Just about Money: Transnational Marriage of Isan Women” (2012, Journal of Mekong Society); “Social Relations and Tensions in Transnational Marriage for Rural Women in Isan Thailand” (2012, a chapter in a book “The Family in Flux in Southeast Asia: Institution, Ideology, Practice” published by Kyoto University and Silkworm Books).
Book Cover
For Information/reservation for our events please email southeastasiajunction@gmail.com or phone/wa +66970024140
NB: The event is free, but donations are most welcome!
Organizer
SEA-Junction, OUR Venue on Southeast Asia
SEA Junction aims to foster understanding and appreciation of Southeast Asia in all its socio-cultural dimensions – from arts and lifestyles to economy and development. Conveniently located at Room 408 of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center or BACC (across MBK, BTS National Stadium), SEA Junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. For more information see www.seajunction.org and joint the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/1693055870976440/
