Questioning Academia
I entered on my pursuit of a university degree after much persuasion from my parents, convincing me that receiving a university degree would benefit me enormously as it would provide me with better chances when I enroll into the working world in the close future. Furthermore, it would also provide me with a broader world view and better perspective in life. My parents did not have the privilege to pursue a degree and they often spoke of how many opportunities they missed simply because they did not possess the paper qualifications. They often stressed how this is peculiarly important in an academic-focused society like Singapore.
But three years into my course, I must accept that my academic journey has been a steep learning curve. I frequently find myself questioning the training system, struggling to understand its rigid structure and its meaning. Should a person’s worth truly be quantified in terms of their written knowledge of a subject? For an establishment that aspires to broaden my world view, there is little focus on the life of real people around us - our community. I am finding it especially difficult to come to terms with the sense of separation from the real-world issues. There is little or no physical interaction with the local communities to understand their struggles. Why then we sit in our enclosed airconditioned studios attempting to make sense of the world and our environment via our laptop screen?
My current field school trip to study the community of Ban Panthom in Bangkok has taught me a lot. It has forced me to venture out of my comfort zone, to study a site through its community. Being driven to interact with actual people from the community through interviews has allowed me to learn so much more about their immediate needs and their views about a place they call home.
As an architecture student, I frequently get drawn into studying the physical aspects of places and situations. My first instinct would be to take out my notepad and camera to take note of physical buildings, alleys, and landscapes that I come across. This overemphasis on the physical condition of a place is often what blinds me from the true purpose of architecture - people. It is the people who shape the buildings and places we have today; if not for our physical and emotional need for a sense of home, the world we live in today would be void of villages and communities.
Are we simply too comfortable in our everyday routines, that we fail to notice the issues staring us straight in the face? For instance, in Singapore we allow our elderly to clear our food trays after having a meal; we shun and belittle those who make rounds at hawker centres selling packets of tissue to make a livelihood. Are we really blind to the issues around us or have we simply become numb to them? I often find myself questioning my purpose as a student. Does writing an article about a lack of filial piety and our need to be more aware of it than solve the issue we have in our society today? How does having a degree, thus help me better understand the struggles that real people deal with?
I feel that we need to stare the ugly world straight in the face and confront it. Sure, writing an academic paper about urban heritage and communities may help preserve and share such knowledge that people may not know of Ban Panthom, but couldn’t time be better spent physically teaching and helping them to improve their living conditions?
“Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day; but teach him how to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime” ~ Chinese Proverb
Shouldn’t our purpose as students, thus be to pass on our knowledge of improving our physical conditions rather than documenting them for the sake of academia? I feel that this topic of community empowerment and engagement is thus lost in the mere documentation of physical buildings and spaces; time could be better spent understanding and helping to improve the lives of the people in Ban Panthom.
“The price one pays for pursuing any profession, or calling, is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side” ~ James Baldwin
I scramble to read the intention of examining and documenting ‘conservation’ and ‘heritage’ buildings. Wouldn’t we be better off spending our time attempting to fix those cracks in the walls, imperfections in the floor boards and misaligned stairs in an attempt to prolong the buildings’ life rather than sitting behind our screens arguing and discussing the angle at which the roof is skewed? Are the resulting pretty images and pictures of these buildings, thus capturing and preserving the spirit and the life of the community in question?