Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
1-2006
Abstract
The 'Self' in late-modernity is never singular but multiplies across different discourses, practices and positions. It is constructed through difference. It is only through a relation to the 'Other' that the 'Self' can be defined. This paper endeavours to map the endless negotiations of my 'Self' as male Australian academic of Chinese descent, a Malaysian citizen, a Bruneian resident, and an Indonesian specialist, over a period of fieldwork in Jakarta in 2004. It discusses how I defined my multiple 'Selves' to different individuals and communities, how they in turn defined me, and how these constructions were always shifting. Depending on the situation, it was my Australian 'Self' that defined me, or my Chinese, or Malaysian, or Bruneian, or even a local Indonesian 'Self' acquired over the period of fieldwork. Using the practice of self-reflexivity, this paper problematises the various dichotomies between the researcher and the researched, Self/Other, insider/outsider, native/foreign and home/away.
Discipline
Asian Studies | Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication
Research Areas
Humanities
Publication
Life Writing
Volume
3
Issue
1
First Page
81
Last Page
102
ISSN
1448-4528
Identifier
10.1080/10408340308518306
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
Citation
HOON, Chang Yau.(2006). Defining (multiple) selves: Reflections on fieldwork in Jakarta. Life Writing, 3(1), 81-102.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/832
Copyright Owner and License
Author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1080/10408340308518306