| Abstract: |
The decline of 'peasant studies' globally has had a significant impact on the study of the peasantry in Laos. The peasantry, as understood classically, has declined absolutely across Asia and the rest of the developing world. This has led some people to confuse this empirical decline with theoretical obsolescence, and in the context of Laos, where the peasantry still exists, has led to a misrecognition of the dynamics of rural society there. The following essay reviews contemporary analyses of Laos, considers the impact of the decline of economic anthropology on these works, and surveys the rise of gender and environmentally focused studies.
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