Modelling Culture Contact and Chinese Ethnicity in Thailand

Abstract

Problems of & guidelines for construction of a conceptual model for analysis of Chinese ethnicity & identity in Thailand are examined. Five closely intertwined model elements are discussed: (1) differential Chinese ethnicity varying with place, generation, class, religion, language & gender; (2) differential Thainess, varying with the same factors; (3) global culture, trade flow, & transnationalism influences, including capitalistic consumerism & material culture, the Chinese diaspora, & the economic growth of the People's Republic of China; (4) national political socialization, Thai citizenship, & nation-building; & (5) influence of local place, history, & customs on creation of a common civic identity. Differences of such a model with conventional assimilation hypotheses are discussed. D. Generoli.