Conflicts and Contracts : Chinese Intergenerational Relations in Modern Singapore
(2006) In Lund Monographs in Social Anthropology 17.- Abstract
- The main purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of social change on Chinese intergenerational relations in contemporary Singapore. Within only three decades, Singapore has turned into a wealthy and sophisticated metropolis with a highly educated labor force. The massive transformation, however, has been accompanied by the emergence of a deep and complex generation gap. Apart from the leap in education, income and consumption, a generational divide has arisen with regard to language, religion and social memory. Based on ethnographic fieldwork among middle-class Chinese families, the author investigates how intergenerational expectations and obligations are challenged, reworked and/or reaffirmed in relation to the extensive societal... (More)
- The main purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of social change on Chinese intergenerational relations in contemporary Singapore. Within only three decades, Singapore has turned into a wealthy and sophisticated metropolis with a highly educated labor force. The massive transformation, however, has been accompanied by the emergence of a deep and complex generation gap. Apart from the leap in education, income and consumption, a generational divide has arisen with regard to language, religion and social memory. Based on ethnographic fieldwork among middle-class Chinese families, the author investigates how intergenerational expectations and obligations are challenged, reworked and/or reaffirmed in relation to the extensive societal change.
The thesis argues for the importance of an analytical framework that recognizes processes of both disintegration and consolidation, and the levels at which these processes occur. While Singapore represents one of the most rapidly changing societies worldwide, the family remains a pivotal feature of society and the primary unit of support. In analyzing the continuity of intergenerational support, the author elaborates on the notion of an ?intergenerational contract?. The notion of a contract underlines the standpoint that intergenerational obligations are neither a natural fact nor immune to negotiation, but it is also a contract the parties are socialized into, rather than one that is explicitly agreed upon. The author shows that the idea of a contractual relationship between parent and child is cemented by the government's family politics, which explicitly locates the responsibility of welfare within the family. It is further argued that the intergenerational contract has to be understood not only in relation to the political economy and the state, but also in relation to the specific cultural logic whereby it is represented and interpreted. While the intergenerational contract is being reproduced on many different levels, it is not a static entity. The ethnographic record unfolds how intergenerational relations are being challenged and renegotiated in the context of extensive societal change. In this light, the thesis also examines how intergenerational support is represented and interpreted in relation to the global capitalist economy. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Conflicts and Contracts är en studie av generationslänken i dagens Singapore med fokus på landets kinesiska befolkning. Det huvudsakliga syftet är att undersöka hur den snabba moderniseringen av samhället har påverkat förehållandet mellan äldre och yngre. På mindre än tre decennier har Singapore etablerat sig som en ekonomiskt framgångsrik stadsstat med en högutbildad befolkning. Denna dramatiska förvandling har dock resulterat i en djupgående och komplex generationsklyfta. Förutom utvecklingen inom utbildning, inkomst och konsumtion har det även uppstått en distinkt generationsklyfta i termer av språk, religion och socialt minne. Utifrån ett etnografiskt material undersöker författaren hur... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Conflicts and Contracts är en studie av generationslänken i dagens Singapore med fokus på landets kinesiska befolkning. Det huvudsakliga syftet är att undersöka hur den snabba moderniseringen av samhället har påverkat förehållandet mellan äldre och yngre. På mindre än tre decennier har Singapore etablerat sig som en ekonomiskt framgångsrik stadsstat med en högutbildad befolkning. Denna dramatiska förvandling har dock resulterat i en djupgående och komplex generationsklyfta. Förutom utvecklingen inom utbildning, inkomst och konsumtion har det även uppstått en distinkt generationsklyfta i termer av språk, religion och socialt minne. Utifrån ett etnografiskt material undersöker författaren hur förväntningar och skyldigheter mellan generationerna i kinesiska medelklassfamiljer utmanas, omarbetas och/eller befästs.
Denna avhandling argumenterar för vikten av ett analytiskt ramverk som synliggör processer av såväl fragmentering som cementering, samt de nivåer på vilka dessa processer äger rum. Trots att Singapore är ett samhälle i konstant förändring, visar denna avhandlig att familjen spelar en fortsatt viktig roll. Författaren använder sig av begreppet ?generationskontrakt? för att analysera betydelsen av familjen i dagens Singapore. Begreppet generationskontrakt understryker argumentet att förväntingar och skyldigheter mellan äldre och yngre är förhandlingsbara, men det är också ett kontrakt som parterna socialiseras in i snarare än en frivillig övrenskommelse. Författaren visar hur idéen om ett kontraktsbaserat förhållande mellan föräldrar och barn cementeras av regeringens familjepolitik, enligt vilken familjen bär det yttersta ansvaret för såväl äldre som yngre familjemedlemmar. Författaren argumenterar även för att generationskontraktet måste förstås mot bakgrund av en specifik kulturell logik, där föräldrar och barn har tydligt definierade roller och skyldigheter. Generationskontraktet cementeras således på flera olika nivåer, men det är likväl inte en statisk enhet. Det etnografiska materialet som presenteras i denna avhandling vittnar istället om hur generationskontraktet utmanas och omförhandlas. I detta avseende undersöker avhandlingen även hur resursflöden mellan föräldrar och barn representeras och tolkas i relation till det kapitalistiska konsumtionssamhället. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/25441
- author
- Göransson, Kristina LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Professor Eisenstadt, Shmuel, Jerusalem Van Leer Institute, Israel
- organization
- publishing date
- 2006
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Sociology, Southeast Asia, Anthropology, Social change, Modernity, Filial piety, Intergenerational contract, Chinese families, Generations, Singapore, Cultural anthropology, ethnology, Sociologi, Kulturantropologi, etnologi
- in
- Lund Monographs in Social Anthropology
- volume
- 17
- pages
- 187 pages
- publisher
- Department of Sociology, Lund University
- defense location
- Hörsalen Spoletorp
- defense date
- 2006-06-03 11:15:00
- ISSN
- 1101-9948
- ISBN
- 91-7267-202-1
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 10a9f718-0aa3-45af-8dbc-78b17b03e660 (old id 25441)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 16:18:21
- date last changed
- 2021-11-24 14:02:17
@phdthesis{10a9f718-0aa3-45af-8dbc-78b17b03e660,
abstract = {{The main purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of social change on Chinese intergenerational relations in contemporary Singapore. Within only three decades, Singapore has turned into a wealthy and sophisticated metropolis with a highly educated labor force. The massive transformation, however, has been accompanied by the emergence of a deep and complex generation gap. Apart from the leap in education, income and consumption, a generational divide has arisen with regard to language, religion and social memory. Based on ethnographic fieldwork among middle-class Chinese families, the author investigates how intergenerational expectations and obligations are challenged, reworked and/or reaffirmed in relation to the extensive societal change.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The thesis argues for the importance of an analytical framework that recognizes processes of both disintegration and consolidation, and the levels at which these processes occur. While Singapore represents one of the most rapidly changing societies worldwide, the family remains a pivotal feature of society and the primary unit of support. In analyzing the continuity of intergenerational support, the author elaborates on the notion of an ?intergenerational contract?. The notion of a contract underlines the standpoint that intergenerational obligations are neither a natural fact nor immune to negotiation, but it is also a contract the parties are socialized into, rather than one that is explicitly agreed upon. The author shows that the idea of a contractual relationship between parent and child is cemented by the government's family politics, which explicitly locates the responsibility of welfare within the family. It is further argued that the intergenerational contract has to be understood not only in relation to the political economy and the state, but also in relation to the specific cultural logic whereby it is represented and interpreted. While the intergenerational contract is being reproduced on many different levels, it is not a static entity. The ethnographic record unfolds how intergenerational relations are being challenged and renegotiated in the context of extensive societal change. In this light, the thesis also examines how intergenerational support is represented and interpreted in relation to the global capitalist economy.}},
author = {{Göransson, Kristina}},
isbn = {{91-7267-202-1}},
issn = {{1101-9948}},
keywords = {{Sociology; Southeast Asia; Anthropology; Social change; Modernity; Filial piety; Intergenerational contract; Chinese families; Generations; Singapore; Cultural anthropology; ethnology; Sociologi; Kulturantropologi; etnologi}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Department of Sociology, Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Lund Monographs in Social Anthropology}},
title = {{Conflicts and Contracts : Chinese Intergenerational Relations in Modern Singapore}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/4632000/26663.pdf}},
volume = {{17}},
year = {{2006}},
}