On May 29^th, 2020 Comparative Literature Doctoral student Palita Chunsaengchan successfully defended her dissertation, “Competitive Aesthetic Regimes: Intermedial Translations and Early Thai Cinema (1880-1942).” Under the direction of Professor Sangita Gopal, Chunsaengchan considered the cultural and aesthetic status of both traditional Thai performance practices and local forms of entertainment.

Dr. Chunsaengchan is now Assistant Professor of Southeast Asian Cinema in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.