In the summer before I moved to Singapore I interned for a London based start-up where I was engaging with a variety of projects. Although I learnt a lot on the job and found that many of my geographical skills translated well into the workplace, I realised that it would be beneficial for me to learn some more practical skills.
My course on writing for media offered me the chance to develop such skills. Over the semester I built up my skill set, learning how to create info-graphics, press releases and news reports as well as improving my ability to write under pressure. The course was challenging at times and I often found myself reflecting on the importance of media.
As a human geographer, books, journals and research papers form the basis of my studies. Aside from textbooks, most of the material that I come across is written in order to make an argument. Information is provided to make a particular point that the author deems important. Similarly, when I am faced with an essay title I prepare for it by reading and digesting appropriate information, so that I may find a critical way to answer the given question. Due to this, my writing skills are honed to crafting arguments and points and it is for this reason that I initially found writing for media hard. As a journalist, one must find a way to relay all the possible information in a logical, concise and unbiased way. At first it was tough to adapt my writing style in order to create a news report in Reuters style (one sentence per paragraph). My sentences were lengthy and littered with emotive words that were both inappropriate and likely to sway opinions. Throughout the course, my teacher stressed to all of us the importance of writing so that the media outlet remains neutral on the topic, however in reality I realised that this is not the case for many of the world’s media sources. For most members of society, newspapers and news programmes are their primary source of information, yet, even long established organisations make errors. See: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jan/18/fox-news-apologises-terror-pundit-birmingham-muslim-comments as a recent example of a news outlet misinforming their viewers to an extreme degree. Moreover, I realised the extent to which news outlets have the power to portray and manipulate information so that it supports political agendas.
Studying this course in Singapore also brought other issues to my attention, namely press freedom. In 2014, Reporters Without Borders ranked Singapore as 150th out of 180 countries on its World Press Freedom Index (Reporters Without Borders 2014). For an MEDC this is shocking, however many people familiar with the country might know that most of the media is either managed or indirectly controlled by the government. It is clear that in Singapore there are people who are concerned about this restriction. The Facebook page “Wake Up, Singapore” was started in 2013 and aims to give Singaporeans a voice, as well as enlighten citizens about issues they feel are not publicised enough. However, despite efforts like these it seems unlikely that Singapore will change its regulations any time soon.
Reporters Without Borders (2014) 'Press Freedom Index 2013' [Online], [Accessed 26 January 2015] Available from: http://rsf.org/index2014/en-index2014.php
Wake Up, Singapore (2013) [Online], [Accessed 26 January 2015] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/wakeupSG/timeline
Thursday, 29 January 2015
Thursday, 22 January 2015
A personal and academic exploration of Chinese Culture
My decision to spend a year in Singapore was founded on a strong desire to experience living in Asia. My own heritage coupled with an overall interest in this part of the world were my two main motivations when applying to NUS. In addition, the chance to experience this part of the world from both an academic and personal perspective seemed like an opportunity that could not be missed. During this first semester I have engaged with Chinese language, history and culture in several ways.
The most obvious way that this has occurred has been through learning Mandarin, which has been difficult yet highly rewarding. I have found that the Singaporean style of weekly assessment has aided my progress immensely and has given me a strong foundation, which I hope to build upon in the future. Learning about the history behind certain Chinese characters has provided me with insight into China’s past. As an example the Chinese character for ‘surname’ is made up of two components, one parts means ‘woman’ and the other means ‘giving birth’. This character dates back to a time in Chinese history when recognition was only given to women in the family and surnames followed the maternal line.
Throughout the course I have also had several thoughts about Mandarin and its influence on ‘Singlish’, the Singaporean dialect. Once common phrase that Singaporeans use is “can-cannot?” when asking if something is possible. This, I have come to realise, has arisen from a Chinese way of forming questions, where the affirmative and negative forms of the predicate are placed next to each other in the sentence. Overall I have found that learning Chinese has allowed me to better understand aspects of Singaporean culture that I previously found bizarre and confusing.
Whilst in Singapore I have had the opportunity to familiarise myself with Chinese legends and folklore. One place that many people told me to visit was Haw Par Villa, as they said it would provide a quirky and entertaining afternoon out as well a lesson in Chinese mythology. The brothers who created ‘Tiger Balm’ built this theme park in 1937; it was intended as a place where traditional Chinese values could be taught. Although the park has since become quite run down, the ‘Ten Courts of Hell’ still offers a very graphic and detailed explanation of the Taoist and Buddhist depictions of hell. Although I was shocked by some of the dioramas I certainly learnt a lot more about mythology than if I had just read about it online. My knowledge of Taoism and Buddhism has since expanded through my World Religions module, and I have fortunately learnt about much less gruesome aspects of the religions.
The most obvious way that this has occurred has been through learning Mandarin, which has been difficult yet highly rewarding. I have found that the Singaporean style of weekly assessment has aided my progress immensely and has given me a strong foundation, which I hope to build upon in the future. Learning about the history behind certain Chinese characters has provided me with insight into China’s past. As an example the Chinese character for ‘surname’ is made up of two components, one parts means ‘woman’ and the other means ‘giving birth’. This character dates back to a time in Chinese history when recognition was only given to women in the family and surnames followed the maternal line.
Throughout the course I have also had several thoughts about Mandarin and its influence on ‘Singlish’, the Singaporean dialect. Once common phrase that Singaporeans use is “can-cannot?” when asking if something is possible. This, I have come to realise, has arisen from a Chinese way of forming questions, where the affirmative and negative forms of the predicate are placed next to each other in the sentence. Overall I have found that learning Chinese has allowed me to better understand aspects of Singaporean culture that I previously found bizarre and confusing.
Whilst in Singapore I have had the opportunity to familiarise myself with Chinese legends and folklore. One place that many people told me to visit was Haw Par Villa, as they said it would provide a quirky and entertaining afternoon out as well a lesson in Chinese mythology. The brothers who created ‘Tiger Balm’ built this theme park in 1937; it was intended as a place where traditional Chinese values could be taught. Although the park has since become quite run down, the ‘Ten Courts of Hell’ still offers a very graphic and detailed explanation of the Taoist and Buddhist depictions of hell. Although I was shocked by some of the dioramas I certainly learnt a lot more about mythology than if I had just read about it online. My knowledge of Taoism and Buddhism has since expanded through my World Religions module, and I have fortunately learnt about much less gruesome aspects of the religions.
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