09/12/2008 -- Interesting newspaper article II
As I have mentioned in my previous post, there are two articles in today's newspapers which I think are worth highlighting; one of which I already highlighted in my previous post.
Hence, I will highlight the second article in this post. This second article is from 《联合早报》/Lianhe Zaobao and is basically an interview session with Dr. Nicolai Volland who is currently an Assistant Professor at the Chinese Studies Department of NUS' Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences.
Specifically, the part of the interview which I found most interesting was the part in which Dr. Volland expressed his thoughts on the lack of intellectualism in Singapore's universities and perhaps also in Singapore in general (see italics below and any emphasis mine).
新加坡的大学，缺点是缺乏人文精神。新加坡国立大学规模这么大，校园里却连一家体面的书店也没有，令人难以置信。
傅朗说：“新加坡有两三家高水平书店，可惜离大学很远。新加坡的书店，中英文书、繁简体字都有，这是最精彩的，可惜，400万人口的国家只有两三家高水平书店，数目还是少了些。”
“国大校园内外没有高水平书店，也缺乏有特色的咖啡馆，没有浓郁的阅读、讨论、辩论的文化氛围，没有对自身文化或外来文化的兴趣，缺乏这样的人文精神是很可惜的。”
他曾在台湾住两年，对台湾大学附近的书店群和咖啡馆留下深刻印象，每次回台北最喜欢到咖啡馆流连。
他说：“每家咖啡馆都很有特色，讲究本身的咖啡、甜点，力求与众不同。他们的老板常去法国、意大利学习，一切都很考究。我常在那里看到20岁的青年喝着咖啡，旁边堆着一叠书。有时还听见两个妙龄少女在我身边谈哲学家尼采。我敢断言她们根本不懂尼采思想，可是她们向往。这种人文氛围，让我喜欢。”
“台湾当然也有的家庭一本书也没有，可喜的是书店处处，就像北京的书店那样挤满人，如饥似渴地站着看书好几个小时。在那里，看书已成了生活的一部分，书本已成了一般人的精神粮食，新加坡可惜就少了这样的文化氛围。新加坡的咖啡店虽然很多，能给知识分子坐下来读书、谈话、摆龙门阵的却很少。”
Translated, the above segment says...
One deficiency of Singapore's universities would be their lack of intellectualism. It is unbelievable that despite its significance in size and structure, there is no bookstore of good quality on the campus grounds of NUS.
Dr. Volland says: "Although there are a few bookstores of good quality in Singapore, these bookstores are not found near NUS. It is splendid that bookstores in Singapore have a vast collection of books, be they in English, Simplified Mandarin or Traditional Mandarin. However, to only have two to three high-quality bookstores for a population size of over 4 million seems to be a rather low ratio.
"Besides the lack of a high-quality bookstore on or near to NUS' campus grounds, there is also a lack of unique cafes, a lack of a cultural atmosphere which emphasises on reading, discussion or debate and a lack of interest/curiousity about one own's culture or that of others. It's a pity that there is such a lack of intellectualism."
Having lived two years in Taiwan, Dr. Volland has a strong impression of the bookstores and cafes around Taiwan's universities and enjoys visiting them every time he is in Taipei.
He says: "Each cafe has its own uniqueness and an emphasis on making sure its coffee and pastries are distinctive. Their bosses would often go to France or Italy to learn new things. I often would see at these cafes young people in their 20s who will have a stack of books next to them as they enjoy their coffee. Sometimes, I would even see and hear two young girls discussing about Nietzsche. Although I would say that it is highly likely that these girls do not understand Nietzschean philosophy, they are attracted towards it. And it is this sort of intellectual atmosphere which I like."
"Although there are also homes in Taiwan that does not even have a single book, it is heartening that there are bookstores almost everywhere and similar to Beijing, these bookstores are filled with crowds which can spend hours standing and reading voraciously. In these places, reading has become a part of people's lives and books are a part of people's intellectual/cultural sustenance. It's a pity that there is a lack of such a cultural atmosphere here in Singapore. Although there are many cafes in Singapore, few of these cafes allow for intellectuals to be able to sit down to read books, converse and interact/socialise."
Indeed, based on my own personal observations as a NUS undergraduate and a somewhat voracious reader, there does seem to be a lack of a reading culture in NUS. Do not be mistaken, my fellow schoolmates do read but it seems to me that their reading diet tends to consists mainly, if not only, of stuff related to their schoolwork. Of course, there are also the few who do enjoy reading beyond their required curricular "readings". Perhaps it is the case that with so much schoolwork and "readings" to be done, few would have the appetite or time for extracurricular reading. Well, while I do empathise with the "no time for extracurricular reading" argument (I also had less time for extracurricular reading during the most recent exam season), I nonetheless find it sad if people read nothing but coursepacks and textbooks. In the end, it is perhaps essential that people try to make time for extracurricular reading.
Hence, I will highlight the second article in this post. This second article is from 《联合早报》/Lianhe Zaobao and is basically an interview session with Dr. Nicolai Volland who is currently an Assistant Professor at the Chinese Studies Department of NUS' Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences.
Specifically, the part of the interview which I found most interesting was the part in which Dr. Volland expressed his thoughts on the lack of intellectualism in Singapore's universities and perhaps also in Singapore in general (see italics below and any emphasis mine).
新加坡的大学，缺点是缺乏人文精神。新加坡国立大学规模这么大，校园里却连一家体面的书店也没有，令人难以置信。
傅朗说：“新加坡有两三家高水平书店，可惜离大学很远。新加坡的书店，中英文书、繁简体字都有，这是最精彩的，可惜，400万人口的国家只有两三家高水平书店，数目还是少了些。”
“国大校园内外没有高水平书店，也缺乏有特色的咖啡馆，没有浓郁的阅读、讨论、辩论的文化氛围，没有对自身文化或外来文化的兴趣，缺乏这样的人文精神是很可惜的。”
他曾在台湾住两年，对台湾大学附近的书店群和咖啡馆留下深刻印象，每次回台北最喜欢到咖啡馆流连。
他说：“每家咖啡馆都很有特色，讲究本身的咖啡、甜点，力求与众不同。他们的老板常去法国、意大利学习，一切都很考究。我常在那里看到20岁的青年喝着咖啡，旁边堆着一叠书。有时还听见两个妙龄少女在我身边谈哲学家尼采。我敢断言她们根本不懂尼采思想，可是她们向往。这种人文氛围，让我喜欢。”
“台湾当然也有的家庭一本书也没有，可喜的是书店处处，就像北京的书店那样挤满人，如饥似渴地站着看书好几个小时。在那里，看书已成了生活的一部分，书本已成了一般人的精神粮食，新加坡可惜就少了这样的文化氛围。新加坡的咖啡店虽然很多，能给知识分子坐下来读书、谈话、摆龙门阵的却很少。”
Translated, the above segment says...
One deficiency of Singapore's universities would be their lack of intellectualism. It is unbelievable that despite its significance in size and structure, there is no bookstore of good quality on the campus grounds of NUS.
Dr. Volland says: "Although there are a few bookstores of good quality in Singapore, these bookstores are not found near NUS. It is splendid that bookstores in Singapore have a vast collection of books, be they in English, Simplified Mandarin or Traditional Mandarin. However, to only have two to three high-quality bookstores for a population size of over 4 million seems to be a rather low ratio.
"Besides the lack of a high-quality bookstore on or near to NUS' campus grounds, there is also a lack of unique cafes, a lack of a cultural atmosphere which emphasises on reading, discussion or debate and a lack of interest/curiousity about one own's culture or that of others. It's a pity that there is such a lack of intellectualism."
Having lived two years in Taiwan, Dr. Volland has a strong impression of the bookstores and cafes around Taiwan's universities and enjoys visiting them every time he is in Taipei.
He says: "Each cafe has its own uniqueness and an emphasis on making sure its coffee and pastries are distinctive. Their bosses would often go to France or Italy to learn new things. I often would see at these cafes young people in their 20s who will have a stack of books next to them as they enjoy their coffee. Sometimes, I would even see and hear two young girls discussing about Nietzsche. Although I would say that it is highly likely that these girls do not understand Nietzschean philosophy, they are attracted towards it. And it is this sort of intellectual atmosphere which I like."
"Although there are also homes in Taiwan that does not even have a single book, it is heartening that there are bookstores almost everywhere and similar to Beijing, these bookstores are filled with crowds which can spend hours standing and reading voraciously. In these places, reading has become a part of people's lives and books are a part of people's intellectual/cultural sustenance. It's a pity that there is a lack of such a cultural atmosphere here in Singapore. Although there are many cafes in Singapore, few of these cafes allow for intellectuals to be able to sit down to read books, converse and interact/socialise."
Indeed, based on my own personal observations as a NUS undergraduate and a somewhat voracious reader, there does seem to be a lack of a reading culture in NUS. Do not be mistaken, my fellow schoolmates do read but it seems to me that their reading diet tends to consists mainly, if not only, of stuff related to their schoolwork. Of course, there are also the few who do enjoy reading beyond their required curricular "readings". Perhaps it is the case that with so much schoolwork and "readings" to be done, few would have the appetite or time for extracurricular reading. Well, while I do empathise with the "no time for extracurricular reading" argument (I also had less time for extracurricular reading during the most recent exam season), I nonetheless find it sad if people read nothing but coursepacks and textbooks. In the end, it is perhaps essential that people try to make time for extracurricular reading.
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2 comments:
ok, at least during holidays i try to pick up a book or 2 from the library. Not this holidays though, FYP...
anyway with regards to the culture, how often do we see people debating about world issues in the canteen? hardly. I think the culture here is just... cold.
Don't blame the universities, how many of the secondary schools/colleges are responsible for this?
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