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Research Collection School of Social Sciences

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Articles 601 - 609 of 609

Full-Text Articles in Sociology

The Construction Of National Identity Through The Production Of Ritual And Spectacle: An Analysis Of National Day Parades In Singapore, Lily Kong, Brenda S. A. Yeoh Mar 1997

The Construction Of National Identity Through The Production Of Ritual And Spectacle: An Analysis Of National Day Parades In Singapore, Lily Kong, Brenda S. A. Yeoh

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this paper, we adopt the view that 'nation' and 'national identity' are social constructions, created to serve ideological ends. We discuss this in the specific empirical context of Singapore's National Day parades. By drawing on officially produced souvenir programmes and magazines, newspaper reports, and interviews with participants and spectators, we analyse the parades between 1965 and 1994, showing how, as an annual ritual and landscape spectacle, the parades succeed to a large extent in creating a sense of awe, wonderment and admiration. Discussion focuses on four aspects of the celebrations: the site of the parades, their display and theatricality, …


Singapore And The Experience Of Place In Old Age, Lily Kong, Brenda S. A. Yeoh, Peggy Teo Oct 1996

Singapore And The Experience Of Place In Old Age, Lily Kong, Brenda S. A. Yeoh, Peggy Teo

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Through case studies of two neighborhoods in Singapore with large concentrations of elderly residents-Tiong Bahru and Chinatown-we explore the relationship between the aged's emotional attachments to place and the sustenance of their personal identities, their continued participation in life, and their adaptation to changing circumstances. In particular, we examine their feelings of physical, social, and autobiographical insideness. We emphasize the rapidly changing physical conditions in Chinatown wrought by the government's conservation strategy and their implications for the elderly. In Tiong Bahru young people are moving to newer housing developments, leaving the aged behind in an essentially little-changed physical environment; we …


Ideology, Social Commentary And Resistance In Popular Music: A Case Study Of Singapore, Phua Siew Chye, Lily Kong Jun 1996

Ideology, Social Commentary And Resistance In Popular Music: A Case Study Of Singapore, Phua Siew Chye, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Popular music as a site of struggles over meaning is focused upon, where the social and political relations between different groups in Singapore society are mirrored. How ruling elites and everyday people make use of the same cultural form--popular music--for different purposes is examined.


Popular Music And A Sense Of Place In Singapore, Lily Kong Jan 1996

Popular Music And A Sense Of Place In Singapore, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper illustrates how popular music written, produced, and performed by Singaporeans provides a means through which the culture and society of Singapore may be understood. Music with English language text conveys a sense of place and reflects a distinctively Singaporean spirit and identity. The paper examines four themes: the portrayal of Singapore's multiracial population which reflects a unique cultural synthesis; the Singaporeans' concept of urbanity, manifested as the simultaneous attraction and repulsion towards the city and the desire for nature and the rustic; the distinctive social engineering in Singapore; and the way in which global issues are imported into …


Making "Music At The Margins"? A Social And Cultural Analysis Of Xinyao In Singapore, Lily Kong Jan 1996

Making "Music At The Margins"? A Social And Cultural Analysis Of Xinyao In Singapore, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Formalist critics and aestheticians have argued that music does not possess any kind of "extra-musical" significance, that there is no meaning beyond the form and structural relations of the notes. For them, music exemplifies the laws of mathematical harmony and proportion rather than the social and political contexts within which it is produced, reproduced and consumed. This view has been challenged by a number of social theorists: Max Weber, Theodor Adorno and Edward Said have all argued for an understanding of music within its social, cultural, economic and political contexts. Such analysis of popular music is now unquestioned. Indeed, it …


Electoral System And Minority Representation, Kenneth Benoit, Kenneth Shepsle Jan 1995

Electoral System And Minority Representation, Kenneth Benoit, Kenneth Shepsle

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.


Music And Cultural Politics: Ideology And Resistance In Singapore, Lily Kong Jan 1995

Music And Cultural Politics: Ideology And Resistance In Singapore, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper focuses on popular music written and produced by Singaporeans to illustrate the nature of social relationships based on ideological hegemony and resistance. Analysis is based on two groups of music: 'national' songs supported by the government in the 'Sing Singapore' programme; and songs brought together in Not the Singapore song book. Interviews with local lyricists and analysis of video productions provide supplementary information. Music is used by the ruling elite to perpetuate certain ideologies aimed at political socialization and to inculcate a civil religion that directs favour and fervour towards the nation. Music is also a form of …


'Environment' As A Social Concern: Democratising Public Arenas In Singapore?, Lily Kong Jan 1994

'Environment' As A Social Concern: Democratising Public Arenas In Singapore?, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper explores the question of who defines the agenda of environmental concerns in Singapore. It argues that the state plays an inordinately large role in defining the agenda and implementing the solutions. Few other competing environmental agendas have been set in alternative public arenas. While this has worked generally well in Singapore, there are larger roles for environmental groups, businesses and industries, and other bodies to play. It is in the enlarged roles of these bodies that the hope for a greater democratization of public arenas in Singapore lies.


Urban Constraints, Political Imperatives: Environmental 'Design' In Singapore, Victor R. Savage, Lily Kong Aug 1993

Urban Constraints, Political Imperatives: Environmental 'Design' In Singapore, Victor R. Savage, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

What lies at the heart of the continuing efforts at social education and engineering? We argue that they stem from a political elite which recognises the constraints facing Singapore and the need to deal with them at national level. Specifically, the government in Singapore has recognised the spatial constraints of an island-state and the dangers of a burgeoning population, particularly in relation to the need to sustain a viable urban ecosystem. They have therefore been conscientious in planning and population control. They have also stressed the importance of remaining economically viable in order to survive and an entire survival and …