Constructing Singapore

出版者:Nordic Inst of Asian Studies

作者:Michael D. Barr

页数:304

出版时间:2008-12

价格:USD 95.00

装帧:Hardcover

isbn号码:9788776940287

具体描述

Singapore has few natural resources but, in a relatively short history, its economic and social development and transformation are nothing short of remarkable. Today Singapore is by far the most successful exemplar of material development in Southeast Asia and it often finds itself the envy of developed countries. Furthermore over the last three or four decades the ruling party has presided over the formation of a thriving community of Singaporeans who love and are proud of their country.

Nothing about these processes has been 'natural' in any sense of the word. Much of the country's investment in nation-building has in fact gone into the selection, training and formation of a ruling and administrative elite that reflects and will perpetuate its vision of the nation. The government ownership of the nation-building project, its micromanagement of everyday life and the role played by the elite are three fundamental elements in this complex and continuing process of construction of a natrion. The intense triangulation of these elements and the pace of change they produce make Singapore one of the most intriguing specimens of nation-building in the region.

In this critical study of the politics of ethnicity and elitism in Singapore, Barr and Skrbiš look inside the supposedly 'meritocratic' system, from nursery school to university and beyond, that produces Singapore's political and administrative elite. Focusing on two processes - elite formation and elite selection - they give primary attention to the role that etho-racial ascription plays in these processes but also consider the input of personal connections, personal power, class and gender. The result is a study revealing much about how Singapore's elite-led nation-building project has reached its current state whereby a Singaporean version of Chinese ethno-nationalism has overwhelmed the discourse on national and Singaporean identity.

目录信息

1 Introduction: Island, Colony, City, Nation
4 The Culture of Elite Governance
5 Incomplete Assimilation: From Civic Nationalism to Ethnonationalism
6 Building the ‘New’ Singaporean and New Elite
7 Catching Them Young: Afraid to Fail in Kindergarten
8 Grades, Kiasuism and Race: Primary School and Beyond
9 Sorting the ‘Scholars’ from the ‘Commoners’: Secondary School and Junior College
10 Winners and Losers: Gender, Race and Class in Elite Selection
11 Making a Mandarin: Inside the Administrative Elite
12 Conclusion: A Tentative Assessment of Singapore’s Nation-Building Project
Bibliography, Index
· · · · · · (收起)

用户评价

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从语言的质地上看，这本书展现了一种近乎冷峻的克制，它的遣词造句极少有花哨的辞藻堆砌，但每一个词语的选用都像是经过了精密计算，带着一种无可辩驳的准确性。与其说它是在“描写”，不如说它是在“界定”——界定那些难以言说的感受、那些模糊的社会边界，以及那些被时间磨平的记忆边缘。作者的句子结构时常呈现出一种交错的复句形式，主句与从句之间相互支撑、相互限定，形成一种严密的逻辑闭环，但这种严密性并非僵硬的，而是富有韧性的。读到激动人心之处，语言反而会回归到最朴素的状态，仿佛是在耳边低语，这种反差带来的冲击力，远胜于那些声嘶力竭的呐喊。它体现了一种对语言本职的尊重，即用最恰当的工具去完成最复杂的思想传递，而不是用华丽的包装去掩盖内容的空洞。

这本书的结构设计简直是一场精妙的迷宫探险，它拒绝了传统线性叙事的束缚，转而采用了一种碎片化的、回旋往复的叙事策略，这对于习惯了直白故事的读者来说，或许一开始会有些挑战性，但一旦适应了作者设定的节奏，那种抽丝剥茧的阅读快感便会油然而生。每一章似乎都在抛出一个新的视角或一个未解的谜题，它们之间并不总是通过清晰的逻辑线索相连，更多的是依赖于一种情绪的共振或者某种意象的反复出现。我感觉自己像一个考古学家，小心翼翼地清理着一层又一层的泥土，每揭开一小块碎片，都能窥见更深层次的图景，但同时也引出了更多关于整体形态的疑问。这种设计让读者被迫进行主动的思考和重建，而不是被动地接受既定事实。它成功地营造了一种疏离的美感，让你保持着必要的距离去审视主题，却又因为那些不经意的、强烈的意象而无法彻底抽离，是一种高明的平衡艺术。

这本书的节奏感是其最令人着迷的特性之一，它绝非匀速前进，而是像一部精密的乐谱，充满了休止符和突然的加速。在某些章节，叙事会陷入一种近乎催眠的、重复性的日常劳作描写中，这种对琐碎的详尽描绘，实际上是在为接下来的爆发积蓄能量，它让我们切实地体会到那种“漫长等待”本身的重量。当关键的转折点来临时，节奏会瞬间加快，信息密度陡增，读者几乎需要屏住呼吸才能跟上作者的思路。这种张弛有度的处理，让情感的累积和释放都达到了最佳的临界点。它成功地避开了平庸叙事中常见的平铺直叙，而是通过对阅读速度的精妙控制，成功地引导了读者的心率和情绪波动，读完后，会有一种身心都被深度“按摩”过的满足感，既疲惫又充实。