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Cultural Compass's oral ethnography: "15 minutes"
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Cultural Compass is producing a documentary to capture what
Shuang Lin Monastery means to society and you are invited to share your thoughts
and have it recorded on video.
The establishment of a social institution can be
compared to flowers blooming under the right conditions. The Shuang Lin
Monastery came into being as a result of social and political forces set in
motion at the global stage; colonization, rise of plantation economy and mass
Chinese migration.
Founded in 1898, 79 years after Sir Stamford Raffles arrived
in Singapore;
the Shuang Lin Monastery is 107 years old and has weathered through the ups and
downs of regional and global developments. Its continuous functioning
demonstrates its relevance to ¡°modernity¡±.
Today, The Shuang Lin Monastery has multiple levels of
history and layers of meanings.
In traditional Chinese society, monastery¡¯s function extends
beyond ¡°religious¡± to include social and cultural activities. In fact, the
notion of ¡°Religion¡± as we understand today is a relatively new concept. In this
way, it becomes a depository of historical consciousness and social memories of
the community.
As an important cultural landscape in Singapore, the monastery
attracts local and foreign visitors of different
ethnicity and religious background from all over the world. They
visit the monastery to appreciate the unique architecture, for cultural
experiences or just to take a photo.
It means different things to different people. Although they
visit the same place, different people go away with different perspectives and
memories. The place means different things to different people.
"15 minutes"
attempts to record the social role of Shuang Lin Monastery from individual's
perspective by inviting guests to talk about their experiences, share their
thoughts and having the process recorded on camera. The feedback provides
valuable information to understand visitor¡¯s perception of a social institution
and to study the changes over time.
To participate in this project is to play a part in
generating historical material for future scholars to understand the society we
live in today. It¡¯s your thoughts and opinions that count and there are no
¡°right¡± or ¡°wrong¡± answers.
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Watch of some the participants share their thoughts.
If this sounds interesting to
you, e mail
ccw@culturalcompass.org to
arrange for a suitable time (weekends preferred).
How it works:
On the day of appointment,
1) Choose your favorite spot in
the monastery.
2) We get the camera rolling
and you can start talking. (as long as you like and in any language....)
You can talk about anything you
wish and in any language. What it means to you, what you like about the place,
your thoughts and contemplations etc etc.....
For guest who have done the
Cultural Compass tours or know about Cultural Compass, you can also share your
views on Cultural Compass.
Cultural Compass requests you
to sign a consent letter for us to use the recording.
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To date, 15 Minutes
has participants from:
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