Dr Chua Lian Choon | University of South Wales (original) (raw)
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Papers by Dr Chua Lian Choon
DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals - DOAJ, Dec 1, 2018
The National Arts Council – Arts Education Programme (NAC-AEP) was established in 1993 to broaden... more The National Arts Council – Arts Education Programme (NAC-AEP) was established in 1993 to broaden students’ minds and deepen their artistic sensibilities, so as to contribute to a more culturally vibrant and gracious society. Assessment of more than 800 arts education programmes are conducted by a panel of arts and education experts, principals and officials from the Ministry of Education and the National Arts Council. Endorsed programmes cover the Literary, Performing and Visual Arts and are categorised into three types - Arts Exposure, Arts Experience and Arts Excursion. This paper identifies three key ambiguities within the NAC-AEP that are preventing the programme from attaining success. First and foremost, the values and importance of the arts to the society are not clearly presented to the students through the programmes. Secondly, the current meager assessment system of the NAC-AEP is highly administrative and requires extensive formfilling, which may not be necessary. Finall...
MDIS Journal , 2020
The article attempts to articulate how Singapore and Malaysian films serve as case studies under ... more The article attempts to articulate how Singapore and Malaysian films serve as case studies under western film theory for entertainment arts students in Malaysia in order to assist them to harness stimulated emotions from films in their strategies to create emotional stimulation. Entertainment Arts is a relatively new discipline in academia. In the field of education, an academic programme named the Diploma In Entertainment Arts has been designed, implemented and managed in Malaysia. One of the subjects in the programme Introduction to Contemporary Film uses the methodology detailed in the paper as its core pedagogy.
Flat out to Keep: Thoughts about Tearing Down a Housing Estate in Singapore
This essay focuses on the question of nostalgia and perpetual melancholy in Singapore photographe... more This essay focuses on the question of nostalgia and perpetual melancholy in Singapore photographer Lau Eng Seng's photographic works on the now demolished Rochor Centre in Singapore. Drawing from Julia Kristeva's 'intimate witness' and Giorgio Agamben's 'inclusive exclusion', Richard Chua attempts to write about the various states of living Rochor Centre residents might have experienced as reflected in Lau's photographic works. Finally, through the spirit of alienation in Bertolt Brecht's drama, Richard Chua suggests that Lau's photographs could regarded as a form of alienated drama urging spectators to critically reflect on their subjects.
Critical Stages, 2019
Despite having a Malay-Muslim majority and a declared religion of Islam, Malaysia is known today ... more Despite having a Malay-Muslim majority and a declared religion of Islam, Malaysia is known today as a multi-racial and multi-religious country in Southeast Asia. It is one of the fastest growing developing nations in the region, and Kuala Lumpur, its capital city, is often regarded as a global city, serving as a hub for international business, finance and education. Peninsular Malaysia (then known as Malaya) was part of the British colony between 1824 (though British influence began much earlier) and 1957. The performing arts in post-independence Malaya would focus on decolonizing the stage, dominated by British expats prior to independence.[1]
Given the complexity of Malaysia’s sociocultural and even political situation, exemplifying the theatre ecology of this nation has to go beyond a mere description of the work done by the various stakeholders. The argument here is that Malaysia’s theatre ecology (or “scene”) is ultimately a product of culture, with its own unique cultural practices and traits developed over time. Yet, it is the inputs and exchanges of these stakeholders that facilitate the evolution and reinforcement of this culture.
The Circuit of Culture, introduced by Paul du Gay, Stuart Hall and other British cultural theorists in 1997, can therefore be used as an analysis tool to account for the current of state of Malaysia’s theatre. The word “circuit” suggests a course of movements or a web of connections, further reiterating the complexity and dynamism in its approach towards understanding culture. This essay is structured according to the five interdependent elements that make up the circuit.
While articulating the curriculum design process of the Diploma in Entertainment Arts, existing a... more While articulating the curriculum design process of the Diploma in Entertainment Arts, existing and new categories used in the design of the only academic programme of its kind in South East Asia have been considered alongside the reading of Hilda Taba's 1967 book Curriculum Development: Theory and Practice. Major and minor themes have been identified from data derived from its 4 years of implementation. Proposed new categories are strengthened as a result.
The National Arts Council – Arts Education Programme (NAC-AEP) was established in 1993 to broaden... more The National Arts Council – Arts Education Programme (NAC-AEP) was established in 1993 to broaden students’ minds and deepen their artistic sensibilities; to improve their overall quality of life; to contribute to a more culturally vibrant and gracious society. Assessment of more than 800 arts education programmes are conducted by a panel of arts and education experts, principals and officials from the Ministry of Education and the National Arts Council. Endorsed programmes cover the Literary, Performing and Visual Arts and are categorised into three types - Arts Exposure, Arts Experience and Arts Excursion. This paper identifies three key ambiguities within the NAC-AEP that are preventing the programme from attaining success. First and foremost, the values and importance of the arts to the society are not clearly presented to the students through the programmes. Secondly, the current meager assessment system of the NAC-AEP is highly administrative and requires extensive form-filling, which may not be necessary. Finally, the mentality of the students involved in the NAC-AEP is not taken into serious consideration. Many activities are contrary to the interests and preferences of the students. Moreover, the NAC-AEP has also failed to catch up with the evolution of the digital media in its planning and content.
Talks by Dr Chua Lian Choon
In a recent essay, Judith Butler framed Hannah Arendt's theory that the alliance between people i... more In a recent essay, Judith Butler framed Hannah Arendt's theory that the alliance between people is not tied to a location, but alliance brings about its own location, within gender politics; she claimed that Arendt's distinction between the private and public domain left the sphere of politics to men, while reproductive order to women 1 (Butler 2012, 3). Besides the usual rhetoric that a body in public space usually is masculine, while the one in private is female, ageing, foreign, or childish, positioning the discourse on space within the debate of these two binaries, there must be a space where both male and female could co-exist.
DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals - DOAJ, Dec 1, 2018
The National Arts Council – Arts Education Programme (NAC-AEP) was established in 1993 to broaden... more The National Arts Council – Arts Education Programme (NAC-AEP) was established in 1993 to broaden students’ minds and deepen their artistic sensibilities, so as to contribute to a more culturally vibrant and gracious society. Assessment of more than 800 arts education programmes are conducted by a panel of arts and education experts, principals and officials from the Ministry of Education and the National Arts Council. Endorsed programmes cover the Literary, Performing and Visual Arts and are categorised into three types - Arts Exposure, Arts Experience and Arts Excursion. This paper identifies three key ambiguities within the NAC-AEP that are preventing the programme from attaining success. First and foremost, the values and importance of the arts to the society are not clearly presented to the students through the programmes. Secondly, the current meager assessment system of the NAC-AEP is highly administrative and requires extensive formfilling, which may not be necessary. Finall...
MDIS Journal , 2020
The article attempts to articulate how Singapore and Malaysian films serve as case studies under ... more The article attempts to articulate how Singapore and Malaysian films serve as case studies under western film theory for entertainment arts students in Malaysia in order to assist them to harness stimulated emotions from films in their strategies to create emotional stimulation. Entertainment Arts is a relatively new discipline in academia. In the field of education, an academic programme named the Diploma In Entertainment Arts has been designed, implemented and managed in Malaysia. One of the subjects in the programme Introduction to Contemporary Film uses the methodology detailed in the paper as its core pedagogy.
Flat out to Keep: Thoughts about Tearing Down a Housing Estate in Singapore
This essay focuses on the question of nostalgia and perpetual melancholy in Singapore photographe... more This essay focuses on the question of nostalgia and perpetual melancholy in Singapore photographer Lau Eng Seng's photographic works on the now demolished Rochor Centre in Singapore. Drawing from Julia Kristeva's 'intimate witness' and Giorgio Agamben's 'inclusive exclusion', Richard Chua attempts to write about the various states of living Rochor Centre residents might have experienced as reflected in Lau's photographic works. Finally, through the spirit of alienation in Bertolt Brecht's drama, Richard Chua suggests that Lau's photographs could regarded as a form of alienated drama urging spectators to critically reflect on their subjects.
Critical Stages, 2019
Despite having a Malay-Muslim majority and a declared religion of Islam, Malaysia is known today ... more Despite having a Malay-Muslim majority and a declared religion of Islam, Malaysia is known today as a multi-racial and multi-religious country in Southeast Asia. It is one of the fastest growing developing nations in the region, and Kuala Lumpur, its capital city, is often regarded as a global city, serving as a hub for international business, finance and education. Peninsular Malaysia (then known as Malaya) was part of the British colony between 1824 (though British influence began much earlier) and 1957. The performing arts in post-independence Malaya would focus on decolonizing the stage, dominated by British expats prior to independence.[1]
Given the complexity of Malaysia’s sociocultural and even political situation, exemplifying the theatre ecology of this nation has to go beyond a mere description of the work done by the various stakeholders. The argument here is that Malaysia’s theatre ecology (or “scene”) is ultimately a product of culture, with its own unique cultural practices and traits developed over time. Yet, it is the inputs and exchanges of these stakeholders that facilitate the evolution and reinforcement of this culture.
The Circuit of Culture, introduced by Paul du Gay, Stuart Hall and other British cultural theorists in 1997, can therefore be used as an analysis tool to account for the current of state of Malaysia’s theatre. The word “circuit” suggests a course of movements or a web of connections, further reiterating the complexity and dynamism in its approach towards understanding culture. This essay is structured according to the five interdependent elements that make up the circuit.
While articulating the curriculum design process of the Diploma in Entertainment Arts, existing a... more While articulating the curriculum design process of the Diploma in Entertainment Arts, existing and new categories used in the design of the only academic programme of its kind in South East Asia have been considered alongside the reading of Hilda Taba's 1967 book Curriculum Development: Theory and Practice. Major and minor themes have been identified from data derived from its 4 years of implementation. Proposed new categories are strengthened as a result.
The National Arts Council – Arts Education Programme (NAC-AEP) was established in 1993 to broaden... more The National Arts Council – Arts Education Programme (NAC-AEP) was established in 1993 to broaden students’ minds and deepen their artistic sensibilities; to improve their overall quality of life; to contribute to a more culturally vibrant and gracious society. Assessment of more than 800 arts education programmes are conducted by a panel of arts and education experts, principals and officials from the Ministry of Education and the National Arts Council. Endorsed programmes cover the Literary, Performing and Visual Arts and are categorised into three types - Arts Exposure, Arts Experience and Arts Excursion. This paper identifies three key ambiguities within the NAC-AEP that are preventing the programme from attaining success. First and foremost, the values and importance of the arts to the society are not clearly presented to the students through the programmes. Secondly, the current meager assessment system of the NAC-AEP is highly administrative and requires extensive form-filling, which may not be necessary. Finally, the mentality of the students involved in the NAC-AEP is not taken into serious consideration. Many activities are contrary to the interests and preferences of the students. Moreover, the NAC-AEP has also failed to catch up with the evolution of the digital media in its planning and content.
In a recent essay, Judith Butler framed Hannah Arendt's theory that the alliance between people i... more In a recent essay, Judith Butler framed Hannah Arendt's theory that the alliance between people is not tied to a location, but alliance brings about its own location, within gender politics; she claimed that Arendt's distinction between the private and public domain left the sphere of politics to men, while reproductive order to women 1 (Butler 2012, 3). Besides the usual rhetoric that a body in public space usually is masculine, while the one in private is female, ageing, foreign, or childish, positioning the discourse on space within the debate of these two binaries, there must be a space where both male and female could co-exist.