The book “Social Life of Teak”, authored by Tim Webster & Virginia Henderson, traces human interactions with the world’s most famous tropical timber species and maps worlds revolving around teak forests, trees and wood. In this illustrated anthology of oral histories, people connected personally or professionally to teak speak of survival, change and learning, creativity and destruction, growth and demise. Woven together, these experiences bring to light the ways that teak has been sought, crafted, cultivated, traded and valued over time. Exploring teak’s significance highlights processes of consumption and commodification, inviting questions about our relationships with nature and the politics of value. Charting the domestication of wilderness and exposing the era of extinction of a feted natural resource, this book seeks to stimulate conversations about our role as nature’s most troublesome offspring.

On 23 November 2023 during 13.30-16.30. at 4th floor meeting room of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University.