Abstract:
The purpose of this research were to (1) understand the meanings and value of Chulalongkorn University Weekly Friday Market; (2) to reflect the identity of the market in the public university. Ethnographic methods of qualitative research, such as participant observation and semi-structured interviews, were employed. The findings were that the market was perceived both as a lifestyle space and a space for establishing and cementing interpersonal relations. The informants also recognized the need to accept the many constraints and to adjust themselves accordingly. All three were the main keys to the construction of the identity of the market to make it not a mere physical space but one that involved interpersonal interactions over longing period of time to give the market a meaningful identity specific to it being a weekly market within a public university.