Monastery, Monument, Museum is the latest book by cultural historian Maurizio Peleggi of the National University of Singapore. It discusses aspects of the social, cultural, and collective memory of Thailand through certain emblematic sites and specific artifacts. In Prof. Peleggi's words, these judiciously selected cultural landmarks and objects function as “agents and products of the transmission of religious beliefs, aesthetic principles, political ideologies, and manual and intellectual knowledge throughout the longue durée of Thailand's cultural history” (p. 1). In so doing, it follows French historian Pierre Nora's concept of “site of memory”, popularized in his monumental collection Les Lieux de Mémoire.Footnote1 It may thus refer to any place, object, or concept vested with historical significance in the popular collective memory, such as a monument, a museum, an event, a symbol, or a historical or legendary figure.
