Doing Lifework in Malaysia

Malaysia is a developing nation in Southeast Asia that faces the same problems as people all over the world, such as family and economic security, and existential choices. This book explores the way ordinary Malaysians manage these contingencies through the art of ethnography and cultural analysis, bringing into focus issues not normally covered in other accounts.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 190 pages
Publication date: 28 April 2023
Publisher: Springer Verlag, Singapore

Malaysia, a thriving and developing nation in Southeast Asia, is home to a diverse population that grapples with the same challenges that people around the world face. These challenges encompass family and economic security, as well as the profound existential choices often associated with developed societies. In his book, Doing Lifework in Malaysia, anthropologist Dr. Aziz Zahari employs the art of ethnography and cultural analysis to explore how ordinary Malaysians navigate the complexities and uncertainties of their daily lives. Through this lens, the book showcases the remarkable ways in which Malaysians cope with the contingencies and unpredictabilities that shape their existence. In a subtle nod to the postcolonial context, Dr. Zahari brings the works of renowned European existentialists such as Heidegger, Arendt, Camus, and Sartre to a recognizably "Third World" setting. The result is a series of insightful and illuminating essays that cover a wide range of social actors, including a Tamil domestic servant, a film maker Jasmin Ahmed, a Malay corporate wheeler-and-dealer turned ecologist, a group of Chinese traders in the Sarawak interior, and a female ex-communist insurgent. This captivating study offers a fresh perspective on Malaysian social life, shedding light on issues that are often overlooked in other accounts. It delves into topics such as Hindu worship as a form of resistance against tradition, gift exchange and globalization, race envy and psychoanalysis, petite capitalism and solitude. By examining these diverse aspects of Malaysian society, Doing Lifework in Malaysia provides a rich and nuanced understanding of the country's social fabric and the complex interplay of cultural, economic, and political forces that shape its people's lives.

Weight: 268g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789811920899
Edition number: 1st ed. 2022