Thesis
Interpreting madness in northern Thailand: Conceptualization of health and illness for an interdependently-oriented porosity of mind
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
05/2019
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000004222
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/125041
Abstract
This thesis argues for an understanding of human health that incorporates local people’s ideas of mental health and illness in a Northern Thai village. Based on local ideologies, I advocate for attention to two interconnected aspects of human health that are currently underrepresented in the literature of mental health which become evident through an analysis of Northern Thai health concepts. The first aspect of health is the existence of the mind in Thailand as a porous, permeable, non-bounded entity. The way a porous mind is organized and presented in Northern Thailand is directly linked to one’s mental health status. The presentation of this porosity can indicate one’s mental health status--losing one’s khwan is an indicator of ill health. The second aspect of health is the significance of social interdependence in human interaction in Thai village life. Being attentive to one’s social environment and maintaining social connections are important criteria for good mental health. Based on my fieldwork in a Northern Thai village, I draw from anthropological theories of mind and interdependent construals of self and show that a healthy mind means its porosity is oriented through social interdependence. By doing so, I argue that this interdependently-oriented porosity of mind impacts how we understand health and helps to make our representation of mental health more inclusive of globally diverse characteristics of mind and self. This helps us reconsider diversity in notions of human health and illness in various cultural contexts.
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Details
- Title
- Interpreting madness in northern Thailand
- Creators
- Xinyi Zhao
- Contributors
- Julia Cassaniti (Advisor) - Washington State University, Anthropology, Department of
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Anthropology, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Identifiers
- 99900896431701842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis