scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question

Showing papers in "Sojourn in 2007"


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Oct 2007-Sojourn
TL;DR: The authors argue that hill-tribe tourism and sex tourism in Thailand are a means by which white tourists attempt to identify authenticity and incorporate this sense of the authentic into their own identity.
Abstract: Through an analysis of tourist-related advertisements and literature, as well as some ethnographic work among tourists, I argue that hill-tribe tourism and sex tourism in Thailand are a means by which white [farang] tourists attempt to identify authenticity and incorporate this sense of the authentic into their own identity. Tourists (and ethnographers alike) attempt to become experts at distinction in order to perceive a truer sense of "self" through authentic interaction with Thais. This interaction is always problematic, however, as the tourist's pre-conceived image of the country continually differs from the reality, especially outside of those spaces designed for tourists, thus provoking a sense of anxiety about the truth of interactions between the tourist and the toured.

38 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Oct 2007-Sojourn
Abstract: Singaporeans need not be told what globalization means. The popular media, as well as the political leaders of Singapore, have generated a "local-babble" of the derivative meanings of globalization. That globaliza- tion means "competitiveness", "innovation", "creativity", "entrepreneurship", and "foreign talent", has become deeply enculturated and embedded in the Singaporean consciousness. This paper will show that the "local-babble" on globalization in Singapore is ineluctably linked to state discourses and practices. I will argue in the paper that these state discourses are not free-floating, but produce teleological and ideo- logical effects to regulate the Singaporean habitus, and create new subjectivities suitable for the new economy. Using Foucault's (1979) notion of "governmentality" and its related concepts and vocabularies, this paper will illuminate Singapore's response to new geo-politico- cultural-economic realities as it continues to live with globalization tactically.

37 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Apr 2007-Sojourn
TL;DR: In this article, the interface between a transnational pietist Islamic movement on the one hand and Muslim villagers in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Southern Thailand on the other.
Abstract: This article analyses the interface between a transnational pietist Islamic movement on the one hand and Muslim villagers in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Southern Thailand on the other. The Tablighi Jamaat (henceforth abbreviated as TJ) expands at a fast pace, covering nearly every village with their weekly visits. Tha Sala in Nakhon Si Thammarat province is one of their showcases of success, as is Mayo in Patani province. However, the movement's efforts to eradicate local tradition tends to divide villagers into supporters and opponents. Concentrating its activities heavily on Islamic rituals, the Tablighi Jamaat tries to disseminate its values locally. Some ardent supporters emerge as new community leaders after having spend long periods of time in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in proximity to the Tablighi Jamaat's centre, and become brokers who mediate between the movement's centre and its local chapters. While the Tablighi Jamaat offers a powerful life alternative to local Muslims, many villagers are uncomfortable with its radical rupture with the past, its neglect of the family, and its escapist attitude towards secular obligations. Tension is expected to rise as the Tablighi Jamaat gains presence and influence.

35 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Apr 2007-Sojourn
TL;DR: The authors examined how Malaysia's 1996 Education Act, which is based on a multiculturalism-type approach, has influenced ethnic polarization in primary and secondary education, and found that most Chinese have not regarded the Act as an expression of a multiculturalist approach but rather as a continuation of the assimilationism-style approach that had been practiced since 1961.
Abstract: This paper examines how Malaysia's 1996 Education Act, which is based on a multiculturalism-type approach, has influenced ethnic polarization in primary and secondary education. This is done through research on the enrolment trend of Chinese Malaysians. Most Chinese have not regarded the Act as an expression of a multiculturalism-type approach but rather as a continuation of the assimilationism-type approach that had been practiced since 1961. This is due in part to many ambiguities in the 1996 Act and in its implementation. The Act has, therefore, not influenced Chinese enrolment trends to any notable extent. The Act and its many ambiguities have not worsened ethnic polarization either nor has it had much impact one way or another on national integration.

34 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Apr 2007-Sojourn
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the technocratic and political influence of B.J. Habibie during the New Order era and made an attempt to identify the sources of power using Bourdieu's concept of symbolic power.
Abstract: This article examines the technocratic and political influence of B.J. Habibie during the New Order era. His ascendance in power is generally attributed to his relationship to Suharto. This assumption is qualified here, and an attempt is made to identify the sources of Habibie's power using Bourdieu's concept of symbolic power. Two main aspects are analysed: the symbiotic mutualism between Habibie and Suharto, and Habibie's ties with Muslim modernists. The objective is to comprehend how different forms of power are transacted within the political structure of the New Order.

20 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Apr 2007-Sojourn
TL;DR: The authors examines state-society relations in post-war Singapore in social and spatial terms and traces the history of state regulation of urban space and a parallel story of resistance by the Chinese population.
Abstract: By analysing a collection of key texts, this paper examines state-society relations in post-war Singapore in social and spatial terms. It traces the history of state regulation of urban space and a parallel story ot resistance by the Chinese population, This paper analyses the making of modern Singapore as a contestation over urban space in the post-war years. A strategic theatre of this struggle was the autonomous Chinese kampongs on the urban periphery. A controlling discourse, representing the urban kampongs as sites of social pollution, made possible the state's efforts to eradicate them by relocating their dwellers in public housing.

18 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
06 Nov 2007-Sojourn
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the soundscape of Indonesian cities: What are the main components of the soundscapes and how do people experience the urban sounds? The soundscape has changed in the course of history through the interconnected processes of modernization and globalization, and yet, the Indonesian urban soundscape had kept its distinctive character.
Abstract: This article will explore the soundscape of Indonesian cities: What are the main components of the soundscape and how do people experience the urban sounds? The soundscape has changed in the course of history through the interconnected processes of modernization and globalization, and yet, the Indonesian urban soundscape has kept its distinctive character. This article is an attempt to see whether social scientists can study something as intangible as noise in a meaningful way.

17 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Oct 2007-Sojourn
TL;DR: In this article, a survey of food-buying customers about various ways and places to buy food in Hanoi was conducted to analyze the threats posed by roving street vendors.
Abstract: One common but increasingly threatened source of fresh fruits and vegetables in Hanoi is roving street vendors. These vendors are mostly rural women who come to work in Hanoi's informal sector because agricultural income alone is insufficient. As Vietnam continues the transition from a planned to a market-oriented economy, the availability of other more modern sources of food and government policy to eliminate their presence on the streets pose a threat to the informal sector incomes of these women. We analyse these threats using the results of a survey of food-buying customers about various ways and places to buy food in Hanoi.

16 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
31 Jan 2007-Sojourn
TL;DR: This article analyzed the participation of post-revolutionary urbanites in debates in the online public sphere and argued that it is informed by an ethics of reconciliation and responsibility lacking in the anti-communist politics of exile inspired by the West.
Abstract: The internet is opening up new spaces for communication between young post-revolutionary urbanites in the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the exiled communities of the diaspora in the United States and elsewhere. While the Lao Government values the internet for its ability to harness the economic potential of these communities, it also exposes young elites in the capital, Vientiane, to critical debates about what a future Laos 'should' be. Such debates are almost non-existent in the tightly controlled authoritarian public sphere within Laos. This article analyses the participation of post-revolutionaries in debates in the online public sphere and argues that it is informed by an ethics of reconciliation and responsibility lacking in the anti-communist politics of exile inspired by the West. The article is the product of extensive fieldwork in Laos and ongoing participation in online communities, discussion forums and messaging networks.

13 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Oct 2007-Sojourn
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors tried to grasp the dominant concepts of knowledge in Germany and Singapore as reflected in state activities and budgeting, and found that these concepts in both countries differed widely in the past, which was in great part due to the structural realities in each country.
Abstract: Different concepts of knowledge and the ways they are valued have influence on the politics of research and development, information, arts, and culture in various countries. In a time when knowledge increasingly gains importance for economic and social development, these concepts of knowledge, as they are defined within society, are receiving greater attention. State governments worldwide aim for the creation of “knowledge societies”. At the core of these knowledge-based futures lie particular understandings of knowledge in each country, which determine what kinds of knowledge society are constructed. This paper attempts to grasp the dominant concepts of knowledge in Germany and Singapore as reflected in state activities and budgeting. The data suggest that the dominant concepts of knowledge in both countries differed widely in the past, which was in great part due to the structural realities in each country. Yet in recent times, with the common goals of economic growth and the exposure to global competition, these concepts of knowledge seem to increasingly converge.

11 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Oct 2007-Sojourn
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the intellectual dilemma of reconciling Southeast Asia's imperial past and colonial legacy with the realities and validity of indigenous agency by critiquing notions of disrupted historical trajectories.
Abstract: ��� This article explores the intellectual dilemma of reconciling Southeast Asia’s imperial past and colonial legacy with the realities and validity of indigenous agency. By critiquing notions of disrupted historical trajectories, this paper attempts to move Southeast Asian studies away from reified and teleologically confining narratives of imperial determinism while simultaneously negotiating the risks associated with overly discursive and relativistic approaches to colonial pasts. In conclusion, the paper offers a unique perspective on historical inquiry, which offers an alternative to the strictures of teleological history.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Apr 2007-Sojourn
TL;DR: In this article, a study of three areas of present-day Bangkok that manifest different stages in this transformation to a space of surfaces is presented, where the aquatic past passes into memory and a Thai episteme based in images and surfaces transforms that memory to less threatening nostalgia and ritual.
Abstract: The modernization of Thailand has seen an aquatic everyday world replaced by a terrestrial one, and a loose occupancy of land supplanted by Western notions of rigid ownership and title deeds. While the aquatic past passes into memory (to pose some threat, however, to the interests of Thai elites), a Thai episteme based in images and surfaces transforms that memory to less threatening nostalgia and ritual; and the previous fluidity of space likewise "survives" in surfaces. The study is of three areas of present-day Bangkok that manifest different stages in this transformation to a space of surfaces.

Journal ArticleDOI
31 Jan 2007-Sojourn
TL;DR: The authors argued that reformist Buddhism has legitimized the process of rationalization and bureaucratization of the Buddhist institutions in Singapore, and this has, to a large extent, contributed to the organizational and educational structure of the BCS.
Abstract: This article is a preliminary observation of the recently established Buddhist College of Singapore (BCS). It seeks to propose, building on Kuah Khun Eng's notion of "Reformist Buddhism", that the college can be seen as a product of the Reformist Buddhist movement in Singapore. By positioning the BCS within this larger context of Reformist Buddhist movement, this article argues that Reformist Buddhism has legitimized the process of rationalization and bureaucratization of the Buddhist institutions in the country. This has, to a large extent, contributed to the organizational and educational structure of the BCS.

Journal ArticleDOI
31 Jan 2007-Sojourn
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors ethnographically dissected a dispute over the illegal settling of an abandoned orchard in the Indonesian province of Kepulauan Riau, and demonstrated how parallel "rights", "duties", and claims of belonging can emerge from the multiple webs of social relationships in which land is enmeshed.
Abstract: What gives somebody a right over land? Drawing on recent re-theorizations of "space", this paper ethnographically dissects a dispute over the illegal settling of an abandoned orchard in the Indonesian province of Kepulauan Riau. It demonstrates how parallel "rights", "duties", and claims of "belonging" can emerge from the multiple webs of social relationships in which land is enmeshed. Local incarnations of the state are similarly embroiled in these parallel social and spatial networks, fracturing the authority of the state as arbiter. The case thus offers fresh perspectives on land rights, spatiality, and the state in both Indonesia and social theory.