Pinkaew Laungaramsri

Pinkaew Laungaramsri is Assistant Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Chiang Mai University. Born in a Sino-Thai family in Bangkok, Pinkaew studied accounting at Chulalongkorn University. During this time she became involved with various social activism and joined the Thai Volunteer Service after graduation. Pinkaew received her Master’s and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Washington. Her research interests include politics of nature conservation, the rights of upland minorities, border studies, women’s movements, development critiques, and social movements. She has extensive experience in the fields of ethnic minority rights, upland livelihood and conservation, gender and transnational movements, and the political movement of local people in northern Thailand. Her research interests extend to cross-border development in the Greater Mekong sub-region with a special emphasis on the expansion of rubber plantations and the impact of special economic zones in border areas of Lao PDR. She is also interested in the livelihood of border people, identity politics, and border strategies employed by marginal people in their negotiation with the nation-state. Apart from teaching and research work, Pinkaew is also involved in various social and academic activities. As a board member of the Siamese Association of Sociologists and Anthropologists, she helps organize several workshops and conferences to promote the fields of sociology and anthropology in Thailand. She is also co-founder of Book Republic, an alternative bookstore that hosts talk series and organizes a short course on democracy in order to enhance political awareness among youths and students in Thailand. She also serves as a board member for several NGOs such as the Foundation for Ecological Recovery, the Foundation for Northern Development, and the Foundation for Sustainable Development. Pinkaew’s research project at HYI is entitled “Contested Citizenship: Cards, Colors, and the Culture of Identification.”