Publications

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Intergenerational relations and rural development among the Karen in Northern Thailand

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Category: Journal Articles APPRA - Asia-Pacific Research Network on Ageing

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Pia Jolliffe (2016) Intergenerational relations and rural development among the Karen in Northern Thailand. International Journal on Ageing in Developing Countries, 1 (2): 143-157.

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This scholarly article provides a qualitative analysis of how rural development - in particular changing modes of production and learning - shapes inter-generational relationships among the Karen people in northern Thailand. Based on long-term ethnographic research with the Karen, the author argues that inter-generational relations and household inter-dependency give meaning to ethnic Karen peoples’ aspirations for work and family life. The author explains how traditionally, during childhood transitions, Karen adults guide children and young people towards mastery of culturally relevant skills and technologies and discuss how social transformations and rural development in the last decades have led to major changes in Karen household economies and inter-generational relationships.

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