Politics and Professionalism in Community Development – Examining Intervention in the Highlands of Northern Thailand

267th INTG Meeting – A Talk and LCD Presentation by Dr. Katharine McKinnon About Dr. McKinnon Katharine was recently awarded her PhD in Human Geography at the Australian National University. Her dissertation was written following a year of fieldwork based in Chiang Mai. She is now a post-doctoral research fellow in Development Studies at Massey … Read more

Dr. Muller’s Asian Journey – Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Yunnan (1907-1909)

265th INTG Meeting – Author, Carool Kersten, Talks About his New Book The Full Text of Carool’s Talk This talk introduces my latest book, published with White Lotus Press in Bangkok. It is based on a travelogue by one Hendrik Pieter Nicolaas Muller, a kind of gentleman-traveler, relating his experiences during a two-year journey in … Read more

Textiles as a Material Lexicon of Tributary Relations in the Lao-Tai world

255th INTG Meeting – A talk and presentation by Patricia Cheesman Background Patricia Cheesman has done in-depth field research in the Laos PDR and Thailand over the past 30 years. She published numerous books and articles on Lao and Tai textiles and has been lecturing at Chiang Mai University in the Thai Art Department since … Read more

Introduction to the History and Significance of Champa

254th INTG Meeting – A talk and presentation by Michael Vickery What was Champa? Champa no longer exists as a separate entity. There was an officially recognized Champa (recognized at the time by China, Vietnam and Cambodia) under that name along parts of the coast of what is now central and southern Vietnam from at least the 7th century … Read more

The Expedition Mekong 2002 in Perspective

245th INTG Meeting – A talk by Reinhard Hohler Introduction “Expedition Mekong 2002” was co-organized by the Brooker Group and Diethelm Travel. The expedition was from November 2-17, 2002, and covered nearly 3,000 km of the Mekong river from Simao Port in Yunnan to its delta in the southern part of Vietnam. Profile of Expedition Mekong’s Tour Director, Mr. Reinhard Hohler Reinhard Hohler is an … Read more

Why do the Vietnamese Write the Way That They Do? The Answer is a Highly Charged Political Issue.

224th INTG Meeting – A talk by Dr. Roland Jacques The Full Text of Dr. Roland Jacques’ Talk During a previous visit to Bangkok, I was discussing the merits of various scripts; Asia has so many different ones, with a friend. When he referred to the “American alphabet”, I was not astonished, but rather utterly … Read more

Buddhist Stupas in Asia – The Shape of Perfection

221st INTG Meeting – A slide presentation and talk by Joe Cummings Summary of Joe’s Talk and Presentation Joe Cummings, author of the hardcover pictorial Buddhist Stupas in Asia: The Shape of Perfection, opened his presentation with a brief history of the Buddhist stupa. The earliest known mention of the word stupa appears in the … Read more