Presented in person and online; details below.

PossumLab is a space to explore creative ethnographic work. Every semester, we read two comics and use them as a way to explore anthropological concepts. In this instalment, Tim McClellan invites you to read and discuss the anthropological graphic novel The King of Bangkok. This novel tells the story of Nok, a blind man who sells lottery tickets in Bangkok, as he grapples with whether to leave the city for good and head back to his native village in the northeastern Thai province of Isaan. The book is the result of a four-year collaboration between anthropologist Claudio Sopranzetti, visual artist Sara Fabbri, and editor Chiara Natalucci. Based on a decade of ethnographic and archival research conducted by Sopranzetti, The King of Bangkok weaves together insights on urban migration, the struggle to maintain relationships with distant families in the countryside, and the sometimes harmful impacts of economic development on workers. A PDF copy of the comic is linked below.  We encourage attendees to read at least the first few chapters before the event

Speaker:
Dr Tim McLellan is an anthropologist and science and technology studies (STS) scholars the ANU School of Archaeology and Anthropology whose research examines the aspirations of and potentials for environmental experts to bring about more democratic and more livable futures. Tim's recent work looks at how nature-based solutions reorganize environmental planning and futures in Thailand.

Zoom link: https://anu.zoom.us/j/82431454032?pwd=owA39nWqTYm2TGOcC0sWa9bEDVangD.1

In person: H.C Coombs Building, H.C Coombs Building, Seminar Room C, Ground floor (near Coombs Lecture theatre)

File attachments:  THIS LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE BOOK