THAILIGHTS

About the Book

As a Fulbright Scholar in Thailand, Bill Wormsley spent a year teaching anthropology courses at Silpakorn University in Bangkok.  During that year he traveled throughout the country, observing special events and daily activities.  He attended weddings, cremations, and sporting events.  He visited temples and bars.  He visited the homes of urban migrants in Bangkok, rural rice farmers in Isan, and Hmong hill tribesmen in northern Thailand.  He made friends not only among his colleagues and students, but also among a diverse expatriate population, sidewalk food vendors, taxi drivers, tuk-tuk drivers, bartenders, and go-go dancers.  Through their instruction, he came to understand the beauty of Thai culture and the strength of Thai society.  Thailights is a narrative account of many of the author’s more memorable experiences during his Fulbright year in Thailand.

About the Author

William E. Wormsley is a social anthropologist. He was a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award winner in Thailand, where he was also John F. Kennedy Professor of anthropology at Silpakorn University. Previously, in Papua New Guinea, he was Research Fellow at the Institute of Applied Social and Economic Research, Director of the Enga Law and Order Project, Program Coordinator of a World Bank rural development project, and Member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Village Development. A Vietnam veteran, he has served as President of Veterans Vietnam Restoration Project, an organization committed to improving access to health services in contemporary Vietnam. His most recent teaching position was at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, where he continues to be Adjunct Professor of Anthropology. His is the author of The White Man Will Eat You! An Anthropologist among the Imbonggu of New Guinea.