Everyday Hybridity
Dr Paul O'ConnorSociology/Cultural Studies/Anthropology
Hong Kong/Ethnicity/Everyday Life
Lecturing in Anthropology at CUHK
Author of "Islam in Hong Kong: Muslims and Everyday Life in China's World City"
Hong Kong University Press 2012
This blog discusses my research on Muslims, religious minorities, and ethnicity in Hong Kong. It also looks at social theory, and everyday life academia, issues of multiculturalism, racism in Hong Kong, visual culture, skateboarding culture, and prefigurative politics.
contact: Dr Paul O'Connor
everydayhybridity@gmail.com
http://uq.academia.edu/PaulOConnor
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Ethnicity in Hong Kong Survey
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Have Skateboard - Will Travel
Two events in the space of a year made me very cynical about tourism. At eighteen I went abroad for the very first time and visited New York. Stood at the foot of the Statue of Liberty I felt completely bemused by how un-eventful and insignificant this iconic spot actually was. Several months later I was introduced to John Urry’s ‘The Tourist Gaze’ at University. I surrendered my aspirations to visit Angkor Wat and countless other destinations.
What I have tried to do since is to as often, and as much as possible, always take my board with me. This transforms the experience of visiting new places and opens up a completely uncharted realm of how you can actually interact with those around you.
This video provides some insight to the rich experiences of travelling with a board and to skateboard diplomacy. Jonathan Mehring shares some of his exquisite photos and anecdotes of his numerous travels. A self evident fact is that whilst you may not be able to speak the language of the country you are visiting, you can still connect with people through skateboarding.
There is however something that is a little peculiar in the documentation of skateboarding in far off lands. It is quite bluntly, exotica. The juxtaposition of a skater in mid-air with minarets in the background is distinct. Why should it be so? But if the truth be told it is that same jarring composition of the skateboard in urban environs that makes skateboard photography so compelling. It reminds us that places have untapped potential, they can be harnessed, used and performed with in ways that dramatically extend their everyday purposes or design intent.
(Source: skatedaily.net)
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Special Issue: Everyday in the Global South | Global South, Sephis e-Magazine
Special Issue: Everyday in the Global South Vol. 9 No. 2 (April 2013) Click to Download Volume 9 No. 2 The following are the contents of this issue…The latest edition of the Global South Sephis eMagazine carries a review of my book ‘Islam in Hong Kong’. The Sephis Magazine is a rich publication that provides an academic perspective and dialogue on issue emerging from the Global South. Their newsletters are well written and cover a variety of issues, so they are certainly worth a look. This current issue relates to the Everyday in the Global South.
Here is a small excerpt from the review of my book.
“In the last few decades, there has emerged a veritable flood of scholarly and amateur works on Islam and/or Muslims. While some of these works have been outstanding in terms of the erudition and reflection that went into their making, a considerably larger number of works have tended to appear simply because a market has appeared for books on Islam – particularly since 9/11. Most of these works are not likely to have much shelf-life, vanishing presumably as the hatred/antipathy towards, and ignorance of, Islam (which spawned such literature in the first place) would also – hopefully – diminish. Much of this literature on Islam and Muslims has tried to understand the complexity of Islam and the Muslim identity, from the standpoints of both insiders and outsiders, in a global environment that has often tended to look askance at these.
O’Connor’s book on Islam and Muslim Life in Hong Kong, I would wager, stands a decent chance of having a reasonable shelf-life, largely because it is – thankfully – not about Islam. For sure, it deals with Muslim life (and that is not the same as Islam), but it limits the compass of the work to the extremely unusual set of experiences of Muslims living in the city of Hong Kong. Part of a series of works on the culture and society of Hong Kong, O’Connor’s work attempts to present before us an anthropological sliver of the city’s life – concentrating on a small community of people (three per cent of the whole population) bound by their religion, despite coming from a variety of ethnic and national backgrounds…
The most delightful feature of the book is the author’s passionate association with his adopted city. The fascinating details about the city itself, the gentle care with which the word-portraits conjure up the images of the city, the loving familiarity with not merely the various quarters of the city but also with the people who inhabit these quarters – all these allow the reader to see the city through O’Connor’s eyes, which is becoming an increasingly rare kind of penmanship. The chapter on ‘transformation’ of the colonial city of Hong Kong into the World City of the People’s Republic, with a demographic profile unlike any other Chinese city anywhere in the mainland, conveys with some dexterity the problems faced by a city like Hong Kong in absorbing people from different countries – for instance introducing anti- racism laws to making Indonesian domestic workers feel at home in the city.”
Global South - Kingshuk Chatterjee - April 2013, pg.88
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Name: Orlando Age: More than 10 years Sex: Male Breed/colour: Ginger moggie Character: Used to be feral in Hong Kong. In good weather he refuses cat food and survives by hunting wildlife. He hates the cold and sleeps on the family’s range. Fights with Clawdius, another of the household’s cats. Roaming: Roams 150m (500ft) from home but covers an area of more than two hectares (5.5 acres) Prey: Brings home small mammals once or twice a week Expert view: “Orlando appears to be a ‘regular’ hunter and travels into an area of open grassland and woods behind his house. He lives outside the village giving him easy access to the countryside,” say researchers.
Ever wondered how cats use space? The BBC have commissioned a project that hast traced a bunch of cats and their daily movements. A new show replete with cat cams provides the answer.
I had to include Orlando because of the Hong Kong connection.
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More around Tai O.
I also spotted a poster advertising and exhibition of photographs taken in Tai O from a variety of photographers. It is taking place through out June and early July at the Landmark in Central. Check out the details here.
Here also is the flyer…
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Infographic about the dragon boats competitions at Hong Kong.
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Dragon Boat Festival (Tuen Ng Festival 端午節 ) today in Hong Kong. Across the territory a variety of different events have been held. We visited Tai O on Lantau and explored the scenic village on stilts as well as following the races and the Dragon Boat procession to the various temples around Tai O. In the final picture we see one of the boats travel past a nearby Tin Hau temple. Smaller boats follow the large Dragon Boats, see second to last picture. These carry a statue of one of many deities and a small burner dangles off the back where paper offerings are burnt. At the end of the procession the deities are returned to their temples.
On the promenade there was a very festive atmosphere with a line of trophies in wait for the winners. There was also a collection of barbecued pig, and some free food being handed out. This included red bean desert, chicken wings, chicken feet, and curried mini sausages. The event also had some charitable support from the HK Jockey Club. There were promotional materials being handed out. A glossy brochure for this year’s event, displays with QR Codes to activate websites, and even a free plastic pouch for you Octopus card
It has been about 10 years since I last ventured out to Tai O. There have been some noticeable changes, but the village has kept its charm quite convincingly. I shall post some more photos of sights around the village.
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Just got word of Go Skateboarding Day 2013. As usual it kicks off at Morrison Hill and then this year to Tsing Yi. It looks like a full event with superb organisation.
See 8Five2 for more.
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Hacking for Good
This is such a timely piece and I love what Melissa Gregg speaks about here. Real enthusiasm with a healthy amount of caution, and some optimism as the papers gush with angst and ambiguity regarding prism.
Garcetti wants LA to be “The best place in the world to hack”; the hackathon the birthplace of “the next tech CEO.” In his term, he wants every kid to have access to coding classes in high school, because education isn’t about preparing people for manufacturing jobs anymore. The winner of the hackathon was promised City Hall itself: “We’re going to open up the doors and the departments… to build a city of Angels for everyone.” I needed a hose down after all that. You can see how the idea of transparency is very easily transported from data to political process and democracy in general.
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I took these photos this afternoon in the space of about five minutes. Hong Kong is not commonly regarded as a religious space, yet religion is everywhere. Two Chinese churches and a small shrine outside a property agent. I got my camera out for the first church and found that there was more round the corner.
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Tung Choi Street - Prince Edward - Kowloon
If you look closely at the Bicycle shop, the upstairs window has a modern penny farthing for sale.
