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ABSTRACT
Several ethnic groups in Thailand consider themselves oppressed; arguably, Thai society lacks suitable platforms for multiple voices and perspectives. Vivid Ethnicity, a mobile museum constituted by Mahidol University, addresses this issue. Adapting Kenneth Burke’s concept of the “dramatistic pentad,” communication theory, and the concept of transformative learning developed by Jack Mezirow, Vivid Ethnicity creates a theory of exhibition geared toward critical thinking and creative praxis. Ethnographic performances combined with participatory workshops are shown to be key factors in opening up conversations and encouraging audience to construct their own meaning.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council. Poverty and Inequality Report.
2 Premsirat, Thailand: Language Situation.
3 Thailand Science Research and in Innovation. Report on Ethnic Groups.
4 The Museum of Cultural Anthropology is located at the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia (RILCA) at Mahidol University, Bangkok (Thailand), and is operated by the iCulture group.
5 We treated the wider context of our activities, including immediately preceding ones. See Yambhai et al., “Participatory Engagement Sustainable Innovation,” 195–212.
6 Ellis and Barrs, “Assessment of Creative Learning.”
7 Burke, A Grammar of Motives; Mezirow, Learning as Transformation.
8 Littlejohn, Theories of Human Communication.
9 Madison, Critical Ethnography; Conquergood, Cultural Struggles; Denzin, “Constructing New Critical Inquiry,” 51–56.
10 Cusripituck and Yamabhai, “Reflection on Pendatic Approach,” 29–41.
11 Such as nonverbal signs (hands, eyes), bodily communication, and facial expressions.
12 Korkhud are the product of our research project “Cultural Transformation of cultural Transmission for Black Thai ethnic groups,” cocreated with a younger generation of Black Thai keen to transmit knowledge in a contemporary way. The cookies are a symbol of modernity; they have a unique recipe and are stamped with an image of a Black Thai house.
13 Simon, The Participatory Museum, discussing Engeström, Social Objects.
14 McPhail-Bell et al., “All Teach, All Learn.”
15 Black Thai festivals are annual cultural transmission events taking place in April in all villages of Black Thai residents. In 2004, there were an estimated 100,000 individuals, dispersed over a dozen provinces, who would self-identify as Black Thai. Most live in the Petchaburi and Ratchaburi provinces in central Thailand.
17 In one case, a student gradually revealed her identity and shared her cultural background to her friends after she felt that Vivid Ethnicity was a safe place and on her side.
18 See note 10 above.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Patoo Cusripituck
Dr. Patoo Cusripituck is a lecturer in museum studies in the Master of Arts Cultural Studies Program at RILCA, Mahidol University, Thailand. She serves as the chair of the iCulture group, operates the Museum of Cultural Anthropology and the Vivid Ethnicity mobile museum, and conducts training for museum practitioners. Her current research work is on developing executive function through play-learn-earn educational program at museums. Her areas of interest include museum education, museum and community engagement, ethnicity, and visual anthropology.
Riemer Knoop
Riemer Knoop is a classicist and archaeologist with a PhD in Etruscology, who was previously a producer for public television. He has held several positions in the Dutch heritage industry and founded Gordion Cultureel Advies (1998), advising institutions and governments regarding cultural policy. From 2011 to 2019, he was a Professor of Cultural Heritage at Reinwardt Academy, Amsterdam University of the Arts. He has conducted research on heritage theory and social sustainability and coauthored A Sustainist Lexicon: seven entries to recast the future – rethinking design and heritage (2016), Straatwaarden: in het nieuwe landschap van maatschappelijke erfgoedpraktijken (2017), and Meer staatwaarden: een pleidooi voor erfgoedmaken als engagement (2019). He has been a visiting professor in Italy, Thailand, Egypt, Russia, Columbia, and China.
Jitjayang Yamabhai
Dr. Jitjayang Yamabhai is a lecturer in the Master of Arts Cultural Studies Program at RILCA, Mahidol University, Thailand. His research interests focus on rural development, ethnicity, and sociology of education. His current research work is on developing executive function through play-learn-earn educational program at museums