Interethnic Marriage in Singapore


Book Description

Examines an important aspect of inter-ethnic relations, namely inter-ethnic marriage, in Singapore, 'one of Southeast Asia's most ethnically heterogenous societies'. With chapters on the sociological significance, sociological factors and types of such marriage, traditional sociocultural organization and ethnic marrying-out rates, and an assessment of findings and research possibilities.




Chinese Marriage and Social Change


Book Description

This book provides a comparative account of the abolition of concubinage in East Asia, offering a new perspective and revised analysis of the factors leading to – and the debates surrounding – the introduction of a new Marriage Reform Ordinance in Hong Kong in 1971. It uses this law as a platform to examine how the existence of concubinage – long preserved in the name of protecting Chinese traditions and customs — crucially influenced family law reforms, which were in response to a perceived need to create a ‘modern’ marriage system within Hong Kong’s Chinese community after the Second World War. This was, by and large, the result of continued pressure from within Hong Kong and from Britain to bring Hong Kong’s marriage system in line with international marriage treaties. It represented one of the last significant intrusions of colonial law into the private sphere of Hong Kong social life, eliminating Chinese customs which had been previously recognised by the colonial legal system’s family law. This book contextualizes the Hong Kong situation by examining judicial cases interpreting Chinese customs and the Great Qing Code, offering a comprehensive understanding of the Hong Kong situation in relation to the status of concubines in Republican China and other East Asian jurisdictions. It will be of particular interest to teachers and students of law, as well as researchers in gender studies, post-colonialism, sociology and cultural studies.




Understanding Chinese Families


Book Description

This book provides the reader with a comprehensive introduction to the distinguishing features of Chinese families. This first full scale study seeks to understand Chinese families within the Chinese social context and draws comparisons with existing western theories and models of the family. It also explores the connection between two Chinese societies across the Taiwan Strait and investigates if the unique features of Chinese families can be applied to broaden the scope of family analysis in general. This book covers ten core areas, including co-residence, marriage, fertility, education, mobility, gender preferences, family supports, filial feedbacks, housework allocation, and the dynamics of family norm changes. The book uses theory-based empirical studies with data collected from a unique panel survey conducted in various areas across the Taiwan Strait, namely Taiwan and Southeast China. The two focal points of the study are geographically close, ethnically homogeneous, and are open to the modern market economy. A comprehensive analysis of these two areas provides new insights into the similarities and differences of Chinese families, to what extent they are distinct from Western ones, and how these similarities and differences were formed. The uniquely complex nature of intra-family interactions in Chinese families and the rapidly changing social background against which these interactions occur make this a hugely fascinating topic.




Strangers in the Family


Book Description

In Strangers in the Family, Guo-Quan Seng provides a gendered history of settler Chinese community formation in Indonesia during the Dutch colonial period (1816–1942). At the heart of this story lies the creolization of patrilineal Confucian marital and familial norms to the colonial legal, moral, and sexual conditions of urban Java. Departing from male-centered narratives of Ooverseas Chinese communities, Strangers in the Family tells the history of community- formation from the perspective of women who were subordinate to, and alienated from, full Chinese selfhood. From native concubines and mothers, creole Chinese daughters, and wives and matriarchs, to the first generation of colonial-educated feminists, Seng showcases women's moral agency as they negotiated, manipulated, and debated men in positions of authority over their rights in marriage formation and dissolution. In dialogue with critical studies of colonial Eurasian intimacies, this book explores Asian-centered inter-ethnic patterns of intimate encounters. It shows how contestations over women's place in marriage and in society were formative of a Chinese racial identity in colonial Indonesia.




Family and Population Changes in Singapore


Book Description

This book depicts the evolution of Singapore’s family and population landscape in the last half a century, the related public policies, and future challenges. Since the country gained independence in 1965, family and population policies have been integral to her nation-building strategies. The chapters discuss the changes in population compositions, family structures, relations, and values among major ethnic groups. They also discuss policies for vulnerable populations such as female-headed households, cross-cultural families, same-sex partnering, the elderly, and low-income families.




Remaking Families in Contemporary China


Book Description

Surnaming: veiled patriarchy -- Floating grandparents: intergenerational exchange -- Intimacy and a third element -- Divorce: broken and unbroken bonds -- Flowering at sunset: remarriage and co-habitation among the elderly.




International Handbook of Chinese Families


Book Description

Families are the cornerstone of Chinese society, whether in mainland China, in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, Malaysia, or in the Chinese diaspora the world over. Handbook of the Chinese Family provides an overview of economics, politics, race, ethnicity, and culture within and external to the Chinese family as a social institution. While simultaneously evaluating its own methodological tools, this book will set current knowledge in the context of what has been previously studied as well as future research directions. It will examine inter-family relationships and politics as well as childrearing, education, and family economics to provide a rounded and in-depth view.




Intercultural Variation in Family Research and Theory


Book Description

Intercultural Variation in Family Research and Theory sets forth 23 critical reviews in a 2-volume set that document the development of family research and theory in various societies around the world. Focusing on modern research while drawing on the historical roots of theoretical and methodological approaches employed in the study of family, this collection not only increases your knowledge about the status of family research in various countries, but also inspires cross-national research among researchers and scholars. The societies being studied have been grouped by region: Volume I contains the set’s Introduction and contributions from the Far East, the Baltic region, Australia, and South Africa. Volume II covers the Middle East, Western Europe, Scandinavia, and also includes the Index. The materials in these two volumes are the result of the charge given to scholars of 23 societies to review the development of family theory and research in their homelands. Their obligation was to provide an analytic report telling a story from their perspective of reality. The book’s editors now present some of the commonality of experiences and trends of the researchers and interpret country differences and similarities from their writings. Intercultural Variation in Family Research and Theory holds numerous suggestions for your investigations into the family field. You’ll find that the set adds to the body of knowledge on comparative family analysis and raises concerns and issues for future research. The questions anddressed in this book include: how gender of the investigator influences choice of research topics how funding sources shape the research agenda what influence a researcher’s career trajectory has on research topics, methods, and procedures why psychological and sociological frameworks and methodologies are commonly used in family research how political policy influences and dictates theory development and research what to do about the multitude of new questions that inevitably arise from such intercultural research




The Contemporary Family in Singapore


Book Description

Twelve essays on the sociology of the family in Singapore in the modern period.