Thongchai Winichakul is a Professor of Southeast Asian History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is of Sino-Thai descent.[1][2] Winichakul has had a major impact on the history of Thai nationalism.[3] His best-known academic work is his book, Siam Mapped, which critiqued existing theories of Thai historiography. In its Japanese translation, the book won the Grand Prize of the 16th Asian Pacific Awards from the Asian Affairs Research Council.[4] Winichakul was named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003.[5]
He lives with his wife Somrudee, son Kanatip, and daughter Pichaya.
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Prior to becoming an academic, Thongchai was a student organizer and political activist while still in high school. He became even more involved in pro-democracy movements while in his first two years as an undergraduate at Thammasat University in Bangkok. Student and labor organizing had blossomed in the wake of the country's first democratic elections on October 14, 1973. But following a military coup on September 30, 1976, Thongchai and other student leaders organized a fresh wave of protests centered at Thammasat. These culminated in a large rally that grew through the night of October 5 following. The next morning, October 6, the Thai military surrounded the Thammasat campus and attacked the students in what has been described as a "massacre" in which approximately 106 people were killed, some even being raped, hung, or burned to death. Many students escaped. Thousands of students were arrested, though 19 were eventually imprisoned, including Thongchai. Various organizations, including Amnesty International, advocated for his release as a prisoner of conscience. He was eventually released on September 16, 1978 and allowed to return to finish his education at Thammasat on the condition that he was not involved in further political activities. He later went to Sydney, Australia, for his graduate education.