Thesis (M.A.)--Sīnakharintharawirōt University, Bangkok. / Typescript in Thai. Romanized record. Abstract in Thai and English : ¹. [248-252]. Includes bibliographical references (¹ 163-171).

Thesis (M.A.)--Čhulālongkō̜n Mahāwitthayālai, 1964. / In Thai with English abstract. Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-266).

Not available / text

published_or_final_version / Comparative Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Economics / Master / Master of Philosophy

This thesis strives to uncover the central narrative latent in the forms, symbols, and architectural order of Wat Phra Chetuphon, a major royal temple in Bangkok, and to consider its revelatory significance in relation to the broader question of Thai sacred building. Conventionally Wat Pho's architecture is assumed to follow a fully formed Siamese tradition.1 Though conceived within a newly challenging historical context, and with a novel pedagogic programme, the architecture's symbolic value has been, therefore, treated as largely self evident. Yet surprisingly neither the traditions of Thai sacred architecture nor their specific expression at Wat Pho have been clearly articulated. / After outlining the conceptual context the thesis undertakes a detailed examination of the temple's different parts and their arrangement. This descriptive strategy proposes Wat Pho's architecture as the primary document available for study, with its specific forms and experience orienting the supporting textual research. Existing scholarship, canonic Theravada Buddhist texts, Brahmanic mythology and the specificities of Siamese history and culture are brought into the discussion as directed by the architecture's particularities. Those forms such as the bai sema and the chofa, which identify the temple's indigenous character and symbolic potential without, however, having universally accepted meanings, are of particular significance to the argument. Equally the complexities of Wat Pho's plan and its experience are considered in relation to their narrative potential. / This descriptive foundation establishes the facts of the architecture and its associations in order to ground the identification of a range of possible narratives. These are reviewed in relation to the symbolic assumptions regarding the Thai temple and Wat Pho that exist. From this foundation a new essential narrative structure is proposed. Like most of the sacred architecture throughout the region Wat Pho expresses aspects of a Buddhist cosmology. Yet in contrast to a spatial analogue (or map) of the universe centred on Mount Meru prevalent elsewhere, it is argued here that Wat Pho's architecture, and the Thai temple in general, articulates a cosmological understanding through a form of represented event; a mimetic recreation of the Buddha's descent from Tavatimsa heaven where he had gone to preach to his mother and the assembled gods. In conclusion Wat Pho's cosmological vision is placed within its own artistic and historical contexts, exemplary of Thai sacred architecture at the culminating moment of its traditional expression and impending transformation. / 1Wat Phra Chetuphon is popularly known as Wat Pho, referencing its earlier name, Wat Photaram, which predated its transformation under the Chakri (Bangkok) dynasty.

This thesis examines the contribution made by "alternative" tourism towards community development in the provinces of Phuket, Phangnga, and Krabi in southern Thailand. Aside from providing novel, adventurous, and presumably authentic travel experiences, "alternative" tourism promotes forms of community development characterized by equitable distribution of resources, quality of life, and environmental sustainability. Alongside conventional, mass tourism development in southern Thailand, nature-based "alternative" travel activities such as sea kayaking and jungle trekking have grown increasingly popular among foreign tourists and have emerged as measures of diversification within a slowly stagnating regional tourist trade. This study assesses "alternative" tourism along the lines of the tourism industry, tourist, and host perspectives, and addresses three key issues, or themes: "alternative" tourism as a theoretical and practical "alternative" to conventional, mass tourism; the role played by authenticity and ethical concern in distinguishing "alternative travellers" from mass tourists; and "alternative" tourism's contribution to community-based economic, social, and environmental development in southern Thailand. The results of this study are based upon several types of data, including selfadministered surveys, analysis of statistical and other documentary sources, field observations, and interviews with tourists, government officials, company owners, and Thais working in the tourism industry. Three central findings emerge from this research. First, "alternative" tourism in southern Thailand shares many structural and conceptual links with the existing mass tourism industry. Rather than signalling a true departure from conventional, packaged tourism, "alternative" tourism constitutes a regenerative niche in Phuket's mass tourism industry. Second, discrepant expectations of, and levels of desire for, authenticity serve to differentiate categories of "alternative" tourists, many of whom display insensitive behaviour and place inappropriate demands on their Thai hosts. Third, certain forms of "alternative" tourism, such as "mass ecotourism," foster equitable community development, while others, such as backpacking and adventure travel, remain limited as engines of economic development. In addition to discussing theoretical and policy implications, the thesis concludes with a localized model of "alternative" tourism in southern Thailand.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 180-199). / Microfiche. / xii, 199 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm