Welcome

Welcome to my website. My name is Taylor Easum. I'm currently Assistant Professor in the History of the Global South at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point's Department of History. I'm a Global Historian specializing in Southeast Asia, Thailand, Asian urban spaces, and comparative colonialism. In 2012, I earned my Ph.D. in Southeast Asian History from the University of Wisconsin Madison, and from 2012 to 2014, I was Assistant Professor of Global Histories at NYU's Draper Program.

This website contains information on my research, writing, and teaching. Click below for my online profiles, or click here to contact me.

Teaching

I have extensive experience teaching Asian and Global History at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Here at UWSP I teach undergraduate surveys in World/Global History, as well as upper division courses in Southeast Asia, global empire and colonialism, and urban history. At NYU, I developed graduate seminars on Historical Theory and Method, Global Empire, Informal Imperialism in Asia, and other topics in global history.  

I am also well prepared to teach a range of subject within Asian and Southeast Asian History, including Modern Southeast Asia, the Vietnam Wars, and Asian Urbanism. Finally, I enjoy the opportunity to advise students on larger projects, including M.A. theses in global history.

Research

My research focuses on several themes. First, I am particularly interested in the secondary, intermediate, and smaller cities of Asia, and with the various forms of legitimacy enacted through urban space. I am working to bring smaller cities to the fore through my research; I have also organized several conference panels to bring scholars interested in this topic together.

Second, I am also keenly interested in the unique coloniality of 19th-20th century Siam, especially as seen from the cities and towns of the provinces. I grapple with both of these themes in my dissertation, and in my ongoing research.

Writing

My manuscript explores the spatial history of Chiang Mai, Thailand's 'second city', by connecting its deep past to its modern transformation in the late 19th to 20th century, when a diverse array of colonial powers came together to transform the city and the region.

I recently published an article titled 'Sculpting and Casting Memory and History in a Northern Thai City,' in the Kyoto Review of SE Asia. I have also written about the forgotten 'Lao-ness' of northern Thailand in a Special Issue of the Journal of Lao Studies. I have also published an article (available here) on Khruba Sriwichai, a famous early 20th century monk from northern Thailand. Finally, I am also developing a manuscript on Chiang Mai's early urban history through sacred space.