In this talk of the Gatty Lecture Series, Sittithep Eaksittipong (Lecturer, Department of History, Chiang Mai University) explores the social and political lives of G. William Skinner -- and his classic book, Chinese Society in Thailand -- in American, Thai and Chinese academia. Unlike previous scholarship that attempted to evaluate either the reliability of the book’s content or its argument on Chinese assimilation in Thailand, this talk explores the political and social aspects of the book and its author. It discusses how the book became an authoritative text in the study of overseas Chinese and its role in shaping perceptions toward overseas Chinese, particularly the Chinese in Thailand during the Cold War. Furthermore, Eaksittipong traces the uses and circulation of the book and the knowledge that it creates in American, Thai, and Chinese academia to see how the book has created different meanings and played different roles among scholars. 

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