The final event of the COTS-53 conference, as noted, was a celebration of the career of recently retired UW-Madison anthropologist, Katherine Bowie. The panel consisted of four of her former doctoral students (Megan Sinnott, Eric Haanstad, Micah Morton, and Prakirati ‘Biek’ Satasut), and her current advisee, Goeun Kim. Each offered reminiscences of their work with Katherine during and after their time at UW. In her review of Professor Bowie’s contributions, Kim concluded that, one of her many achievements was the creation of an impressive global “cult” of anthropologists of Southeast Asia, all of whom have contributed and continue to contribute to this field of worship. In describing the “cult,” Kim shared the long-distance messages of three other members of the society in Thailand: Yukti Makdawijitra, Boonlert Visetpricha, and Neeranooch ‘June’ Malangpoo. In addition, Biek brought another cult member onto the screen “live from Bangkok,” Chaiyaporn ‘Bass’ Singdee, who shared his memories and, along with the others, expressed their appreciation for Ajan Kat’s crucial role in their scholarship, careers, and other-worldly experiences… At the end, Katherine, as always, invited the members of her cult, along with their friends and families, to her house to eat, drink, and continue the discussion.
L to R: M Sinnott & E Haanstad G Kim with message from June
L to R: Bass (on screen), M Morton and Biek (speaking)
L to R: M Sinnott, E Haanstad, G Kim, M Morton
