Taylor Easum- An Urban History of Chang Mai

Description:
Taylor Easum is an assistant professor of History at Indiana State University. He specializes in the history of urban networks in Thailand, with a particular focus on Chang Mai. Easum argues that historians need to place more focus on secondary cities (metropoles that are often unrecognized beyond a region or nation). He contends that focusing on primary cities, such as national capitals, often causes scholars to fixate their analysis of the city within the context of the nation-state. In contrast, studying secondary cities offers historians of urban centers unique perspectives on connections between those cities and populations, such as cultural, religious, and ethnic groups, which transcend national borders.