Saturday University: Discovering Bhutan

Welcome to Saturday University, a monthly lecture series featuring experts from around the world. Gain new insights on Asia throughout time as our visiting scholars, authors, artists, and thought leaders delve into new themes each season.

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$15
$10 SAM members & students with ID
Tickets include gallery access

Discovering Bhutan: Navigating Tradition and Modernity in a Changing Cultural Landscape

Wantanee Suntikul

On November 9, Take a journey to the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, at the front lines of the confrontation between this country’s rich and storied culture and the networks of global tourism. Dr. Wantanee Suntikul will explore the dynamics of this collision of cultures around this festival and the prospects for the future of traditional heritage in the face of encroaching tourism as a harbinger of modernity.

The Tsechu festival, an ancient element of heritage in Bhutan, is an anchor of spiritual and cultural identity for the Bhutanese. Recent years have seen the incursion of international tourism into this formerly largely untouched region, drawn by the exotic lure of this unique landscape and culture, raising the question of how to reap the benefits of tourism while mitigating the impact on the local culture and society. With the influx of international tourism, the Tsechu has been attended by increasing numbers of tourists, for whom it is an exotic and entertaining spectacle. Drawing on insights from dialogues with monks and local residents, the lecture will explore the dynamics of this collision of cultures around this festival and the prospects for the future of traditional heritage in the face of encroaching tourism as a harbinger of modernity.

Dr. Wantanee Suntikul received her Master's degree and PhD from the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Surrey, Guildford, England. With over 17 years of teaching and research experience in Macao, Hong Kong, and Bhutan, she is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati, Clermont College. Dr. Suntikul's research interests and expertise lie in gastronomy, cultural festivals, sustainable hospitality, and the political and social aspects of tourism and hospitality development. Her geographical focus spans Bhutan, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, China, Hong Kong, Macao, and the South Pacific. Her co-edited books include "Tourism and Political Change," "Tourism and War," and "Tourism and Religion: Issues and Implications." She is currently working on a book on gastronomy in Vietnam. Dr. Suntikul has been the Joint Editor-in-Chief of the journal “Tourism, Culture & Communication” for over ten years and is an Associate Editor of the journal “Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights."