Thammasat University

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Thammasat University
มหาวิทยาลัย ธรรมศาสตร์
logo
campus Bangkok, Rangsit , Lampang , Pattaya
University color yellow Red
founding 1934
Sponsorship Thai state
place Bangkok ( Phra Nakhon District )
Country Thailand
president Somkit Lertpaithoon
University Council Noranite Setabutr
students 33,509 (2009)
Employee 6458 (2010)
academic staff 3090 (2010)
Website tu.ac.th
The Thammasat University from the Chao Phraya River seen from

The Thammasat University ( Thai : มหาวิทยาลัย ธรรมศาสตร์ , RTGS : Mahawitthayalai Thammasat, pronunciation: [tʰammáʔsàːt] , translated as "University of Law" or "Morality and Ethics") in Bangkok is one of the most renowned universities in Thailand . It was founded in 1934 and is known for its special role in the democratization of the country.

history

The university was founded in 1934 with the significant participation of the liberal politician and later Prime Minister Pridi Phanomyong . It was initially called the "University of Moral Science and Politics" (Thai: มหาวิทยาลัย วิชา ธรรมศาสตร์ และ การเมือง , Mahawitthayalai Thammasat lae Kanmueang ). The term Thammasat is derived from the Sanskrit dharmaśāstra , 'doctrine of the Dharma '. For centuries it was a kind of basic law of ancient Siam , a collection of traditional ethical, religious, political and legal norms that can be traced back to the Indian Manusmṛti (“Code of Manu”). It is still called the “University of the People” today because it tries particularly hard to secure university access for all people in the country. The law faculty existed before Thammasat University was founded. It was founded in 1907 as a law school for the Ministry of Justice.

Since 1934, the university has had over 200,000 students, five of whom have become Prime Ministers of Thailand, several Presidents of the Supreme Court, some Members of Parliament and Senators, or successful businessmen.

Thammasat University was initially a specialized institution that only offered studies in law, political science and diplomacy, economics, and trade and accounting. It was not until the 1950s that other courses and faculties were gradually added. The name of the university was shortened to Thammasat University in 1952. In 1962, it was the first Thai university to open a faculty of Liberal Arts . Established in 1955, the Graduate Institute of Public Administration was spun off as the National Institute of Development Administration in 1966 .

Memorial to the massacre on October 6, 1976 on the university campus

During the 1970s, Thammasat University was a center of the pro-democratic student movement. It was a starting point for the popular uprising in October 1973 , which led to the temporary end of the military dictatorship. King Bhumibol Adulyadej appointed the independent rector of the university, Sanya Dharmasakti , temporarily as prime minister and entrusted him with the drafting of a new, more liberal constitution.

Thammasat University, with its politically active student body and its new rector Puey Ungphakorn, was an object of hatred for the political right, which viewed all progressive and left-wing movements as support for communism. In August 1975, the Red Buffalo militia raided Thammasat University and attempted to burn down its buildings. After the disempowered military dictator Thanom Kittikachorn returned from exile to Thailand in 1976, thousands of students and activists demonstrated again on the Thammasat campus. The protests were brutally suppressed by police and far-right vigilante groups on October 6 in the massacre at Thammasat University and on Sanam Luang . Numerous university students died in the process.

Since 1984 the university has had its own faculty for sociology. In 1986, the Rangsit campus, 40 kilometers north of Bangkok, was opened, initially as a branch for natural science and technical subjects, but now the bachelor's degree programs of all faculties are taught there. In 1991, the medical faculty of Thammasat University was established.

In 1992 the place in front of the Bodhi tree on the university campus was once again the starting point for political protests, which expanded into mass protests far beyond the university and culminated in the bloody events of " Black May ".

General

The university is spread over two separate locations. The original location, called Tha Phrachan Campus, is on the site of the Viceroy's former palace (Wang Na) on Mae Nam Chao Phraya ( Chao Phraya River ) near the Grand Palace and the National Museum . A new location was opened in 1986 about 40 kilometers further north in Amphoe Khlong Luang , Pathum Thani Province , the Rangsit Campus . The natural science and technical faculties were originally located here. In the meantime, all teaching operations, with the exception of a few master’s and doctoral programs, have been transferred there. The rector's office and the large assembly hall for special occasions are still on the Tha Phrachan campus. There are also branch offices in Pattaya and Lampang .

The emblem of the university shows the constitution of Thailand lying on two presentation bowls (phan) against the background of a Dharmachakra (wheel of law). On the one hand it stands for Buddhist values ​​and on the other hand for the commitment to democracy. Pridi Phanomyong is venerated as the “father” of the university, after whom the central university library is named and to whom a square and statue on the Tha Phrachan campus are dedicated. Every year, the university founder's birthday is celebrated as “Pridi Day”, when students offer bouquets and flower arrangements to the statue.

The university is a full member of LAOTSE - an international network of leading universities in Europe and Asia, as well as the Greater Mekong Subregion Academic and Research Network . She works with the University of Cologne , the Ludwigsburg University of Education , the University of Hamburg , the University of Bielefeld , the Technical University of Munich , the Technical University of Darmstadt , the University of Lund , Sciences Po and the HEC Paris . The law faculty of Thammasat University also maintains a center for German law. Since 2009, it has also been the location of the German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG), a “ think tank ” to promote dialogue on the rule of law and good governance in cooperation with the universities of Frankfurt am Main , Münster and Passau . It is financed by the Foreign Office and the German Academic Exchange Service .

Choreography of the Thammasat at the 63rd Chula Thammasat traditional game, 2008

The 1998 Asian Games took place on the Rangsit Campus . In 2007 the World University Games (the Olympic Games for students) were held there.

The university is in constant competition with Chulalongkorn University , which is considered to be the most prestigious in the country. Every year in January, the football teams of the two institutions compete in the traditional Chula Thammasat game , which is played in the Suphachalasai Stadium . Many high-ranking administrators (and government leaders) have been trained at Thammasat University.

There is a train station near the Rangsit campus named after Thammasat University. It is located on the railway line leading north out of Bangkok, which serves the traffic of the Northern Railway and the Northeast Railway of the Thai State Railway with the final destinations Chiang Mai , Nong Khai and Ubon Ratchathani .

Faculties (2003)

  • Liberal arts
  • Engineering
  • Journalism and mass communication
  • Art history
  • Nursing
  • medicine
  • Science and technology
  • Political science
  • Law
  • sociology
  • Social affairs
  • Economics
  • Dentistry
Associated, but legally independent

Former lecturers

Memorial to the University's founder, Pridi Phanomyong, on campus

Well-known graduates

Ranking

In the QS World University Ranking 2013, Thammasat University took second place in Thailand behind Chulalongkorn University in the humanities, social and economic sciences . It was even number one in modern languages.

Web links

Commons : Thammasat University  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b General Background, Thammasat University
  2. ^ Puey Ungphakorn: Violence and the Military Coup in Thailand. In: Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars , Volume 9, No. 3/1977, p. 10.
  3. ↑ a b Thammasat University. A must-see destination. In: LookEast Magazine (Online), June 13, 2013.
  4. ^ Father of Thai democracy, forever misunderstood. In: Bangkok Post , May 11, 2013.
  5. ↑ Dietrich von Richthofen: Think Tank for Good Governance. In: DAAD magazine , November 23, 2010
  6. ^ German-Thai center in the rule of law dialogue. ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bangkok.diplo.de archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: 150 Years of Diplomatic Relations. German Embassy Bangkok, 2012.
  7. ^ Horst Rudolf: Think Tank for Good Governance - The German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG). ( Memento of the original from June 6, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / hdff.org archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Human Development Forum Foundation, March 14, 2011.
  8. ↑ QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2013 Country File Thailand. Archived from the original on January 6, 2014 ; accessed on November 28, 2015 .