Teaching multiculturalism in Singapore
Bell, Daniel A.
TWO PEDAGOGICAL principles seem to pull in opposite directions. On the one hand, proponents of Great Works argue that university students in the social sciences and humanities should be exposed...
...The stronger the attachment to the group, the more the tribe is capable of conquering others: It should be known that since . . . desert life no doubt is the reason for bravery, savage groups are braver than others...
...Rulers should be well acquainted with asabiyah and rely on nomads to increase their power...
...The PAP also launched a massive nation-building exercise designed to forge a common identity— one that would motivate soldiers to face danger on the nation's behalf...
...The point is not whether I actually endorsed their arguments...
...During my undergraduate days at Montreal's McGill University in the early 1980s, the political theory curriculum revolved almost entirely among anglophone and German thinkers (with the exception of a few lectures on Rousseau in the introduction to political theory course...
...Apparently all this was missed, and X believed that I was endorsing Mill's views...
...For example, Liang Qichao (1873-1929), arguably China's most influential twentieth-century intellectual, wrote at length about the implications of Western-style democracy in a Chinese context...
...ATION-BUILDING was perhaps Singapore's greatest challenge...
...Shu-tiao and Yi-ya, by catering to the ruler's desires, were able to invade his authority . . . . What caused this...
...To support the claim of a pro-Chinese bias, X argued that all my accounts of Chinese thinkers were positive...
...In fact, I dare say that the course was successful, judging by the lively discussion in tutorial groups and the subsequent course evaluations...
...They are, therefore, better able to achieve superiority and to take away the things that are in the hands of other nations...
...The primary language of education is still English, but the various groups also receive education in their "mother tongues"—Mandarin for the Chinese, Malay for the Malay Muslims, and Tamil for the Indians...
...Inclusive Multiculturalism The lesson was clear—I needed to expand my curriculum to include the contributions of Muslim and Indian thinkers...
...The British granted internal self-government to Singapore in 1959...
...In the late 1980s, the government also promoted religious education in secondary schools, with the different religions corresponding roughly to the different ethnic groups...
...I further explained that I did not mean to endorse all the arguments of Chinese thinkers discussed in class—for example, I didn't agree with Han Fei's advice that Confucian scholars should be liquidated...
...merely presenting them in class showed that I took them seriously...
...POLITICS ABROAD Racism in the Classroom...
...I hoped that students would appreciate my attempts to incorporate more Asian viewpoints in the syllabus...
...It is an example of the calamity that comes when the ruler reveals his feelings to his ministers...
...They were not laughing...
...For example, a teacher planning a high school civics course on democratic government or a university course on democratic theory could not avoid Eurocentrism...
...The student accused me of racism—more specifically, of glorifying Chinese thinkers and denigrating the cultural contributions of Singapore's minority groups...
...In his own period, Han Fei argued that state power needed to be strengthened by means of harsh laws and punishments...
...I also responded to the speculations about my hidden political agenda...
...Han Fei had special contempt for Confucian political thinkers who stressed tolerance and moral education...
...This argument for multicultural education does not apply only to national minorities...
...He is the author of East Meets West: Human Rights and Democracy in East Asia, forthcoming from Princeton University Press...
...In 1991, I was offered a job teaching political theory at the National University of Singapore...
...He favored a centralized administration with the king at the top of a hierarchy and an extensive use of spies to guarantee internal security...
...I was not given any explicit guidance, but I took this to mean that I should give greater recognition to Asian "civilizations" in the course curriculum...
...He began the course with some arguments for realpolitik, drawing on Machiavelli's Prince to make his points...
...He justified "civilizing missions" to uplift what he called "barbarians" in India, apparently oblivious to the ugly reality of European imperialism (notwithstanding—or perhaps because of—the fact that he worked for the East India Company...
...In the next part of the course, on "Morality Without Politics," I discussed the views of anarchist thinkers who argued against all forms of state coercion on the grounds that human beings were potentially rational and self-regulating...
...Singapore did have a model—Israel—in meeting its security challenges...
...I stated my own (critical) views on Mill's defense of European imperialism...
...After two years, however, Singapore was expelled from Malaysia and forced to be independent...
...I drew on Aristotle and Mill, but I also discussed the views of Confucius...
...It remains a fact that the history of democracy and of democratic theory is largely, if not exclusively, a Western history...
...But in his own day—the Warring States period— such policies would lead to disaster, and Confucians were naively drawing inappropriate lessons from accidental features of past societies: [T]he sage does not try to practice the ways of antiquity or to abide by a fixed standard, but examines the affairs of the age and takes what precautions are necessary...
...So why not, if they want to exploit our labor...
...volume one focuses on political themes...
...Singapore is a small tropical island roughly the size of Brooklyn...
...But he got no more rabbits, and instead became the laughing stock of Sung...
...All we had was labor...
...I would begin with the theme "Politics Without Morality," and then move on to various thinkers who argued for different combinations of morality and politics...
...Because I could not respond personally to X's letter, I brought it to class, read parts of it out loud, and clarified my motives to the whole class...
...Nobody else wanted to exploit labor...
...iv)by dropping a beam fixed at one end on him...
...they serve him only in the hope of substantial gain...
...By the time I had finished, many students were laughing, apparently amused by the absurdity of the accusations and my dry responses...
...sHoRTLy BEFORE my last lecture, a student slipped a letter signed X under my office door...
...Instead, it now seeks to accommodate the fact of ethnic pluralism in various ways, such as guaranteeing a seat for minority candidates in multi-seat constituencies and promoting ethnic-based welfare services...
...It was the first conference co-hosted by an Israeli and a Palestinian institute—the Jerusalem Spinoza Institute and Al-Quds University, under the auspices of UNESCO...
...Singapore's Political History First, however, it is worth saying something about the political context...
...To deal with the former, the PAP—although nominally socialist— adopted the strategy of opening its country to foreign investment...
...Thereupon the farmer laid aside his plow and took up watch beside the stump, hoping that he would get another rabbit in the same way...
...Khaldun argued that the political thinker should describe what is, understand it, and draw lessons on the basis of history...
...On the one hand, proponents of Great Works argue that university students in the social sciences and humanities should be exposed largely, if not exclusively, to the contributions of profound and influential thinkers...
...And POLITICS ABROAD by excluding the contributions of Muslim and Indian thinkers from the curriculum, I was implicitly sending the message that their views were unimportant and uninteresting—or at least, that is how it would be seen by Malay and Indian students...
...Consider the large numbers of students of Chinese descent at the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia...
...We could not have made a living...
...Consider the following list of tactics for assassinating an enemy ruler: [He may] be killed by mechanical contrivances of the kind described below, when, out of piety, he comes to worship on the occasion of a festival or a frequently visited temple: (i) by releasing a mechanism causing a wall or a stone to fall on him after he has entered the temple...
...In East Asia, for example, there are countless debates about the sources of democratic ideas within Confucianism, Islam, and so on...
...His approach contrasts with al-Farabi's description of the ideal Islamic city-state...
...For one thing, it may only apply to introductory classes in the social sciences and the humanities (more advanced classes tend to be 32 . DISSENT / Spring 2000 specialized, and cultural background does not matter as much in the natural sciences...
...Non-Western traditions, however, lack strong contributions on many other topics, and then it won't be possible to tailor the curriculum to mirror the ethnic composition of the classroom...
...This seemed like a good starting point for the course...
...So when people say, 'Oh, ask the people!', it's childish rubbish...
...He withdrew from the "real world" in his forties, and settled down to write The Muqaddimah, or "Introduction to World History...
...vii)by poisoning the flowers and incense offered to him...
...I investigated the contributions of Indian and Muslim thinkers, and to my surprise learned that there were influential Machiavellian thinkers in the Indian and Islamic traditions as well, once again, long before Machiavelli's time...
...This effort was partly successful, and the territory attracted migrants from China, India, and the surrounding Malay-Islamic archipelago...
...One day a rabbit, racing across the field, bumped into the stump, broke its neck, and died...
...We would starve, we would have race riots...
...It would only be a slight exaggeration to describe subsequent Chinese imperial hisDISSENT / Spring 2000 n 29 POLITICS ABROAD tory as a constant struggle between Han Fei's realpolitik and Confucian morality...
...I concluded that Han Fei Tzu was the most consistent Machiavellian—he scored a perfect five out of five on the checklist—and poor Machiavelli came in last place...
...The potential benefits of multicultural education— motivating minority and immigrant students and improving mutual understanding— far outweigh the risks...
...The ruler should do his best to expand his territory, without moral or religious constraints...
...Another potential benefit of exposure to French writers is that anglophone students could have developed a better understanding of French political culture— and, who knows, this may have led to a rapprochement of the "two solitudes...
...Lee now recognizes the excessive chutzpah of his early days: "It was as well that we did not realize how daunting were the problems of building a nation out of peoples of totally different races, languages, religions and cultures...
...Some classrooms may be so diverse that it isn't feasible to include the scholarly contributions of all ethnic groups...
...This descriptive, sociological workKhaldun is often referred to as the founder of modern sociology—covers a range of topics...
...vi)by poisoning the cowdung spread on the floor or the water used for sprinkling in the places where he stays, sits or moves about...
...Not surprisingly, rulers were receptive to this sort of advice, starting with the ruthless king of Qin, who ascended to the throne in 246 BCE and drew on Han Fei's advice to conquer and rule all of China as first emperor of the Qin dynasty...
...I did, however, use quotes around the word "barbarians" in my lecture notes...
...Kautilya, a minister of the first Mauryan empire, relied on the historical and comparative method to draw lessons for the establishment, operation, and expansion of the machinery of government...
...In the last part of the course, on "Morality and Politics," I discussed the views of political thinkers who argued that the state was necessary, but that its policies should be informed and constrained by moral ideals...
...viii)by making him inhale [inside the temple] poisonous fumes concealed by fragrances...
...But is it really a fact...
...The section on foreign policy is particularly Machiavellian...
...From the political point of view, an inclusive curriculum has the advantage of encouraging mutual learning and understanding...
...When I showed X's letter to a senior Singaporean colleague, he pointed out that I was partly to blame, because I had only discussed the contributions of Chinese thinkers...
...We are leaders...
...This was not made easy by the fact that Singapore was, and is, an ethnically plural society-77 percent Chinese, 14 percent Malay, and 7 percent Indian—and the various groups were literally at war with each other in the early sixties...
...Following Han Fei's recommendation, the king of Qin also buried alive several hundred Confucian scholars with their books...
...Like the other Machiavellian(, Khaldun led an active political life in turbulent times...
...Eventually, however, nomadic conquerors will succumb to the temptations of luxurious city life, and that is the beginning of the end...
...He wrote a political handbook for power-hungry rulers, supporting his advice with colorful examples that occasionally went beyond the bounds of good taste: If the ruler reveals what he dislikes, his ministers will be careful to disguise their motives...
...I had replaced an expatriate who relied solely on Western sources to teach a large (more than three hundred students) first year "Introduction to Political Theory" course...
...Instead, it attempted to combat all forms of ethnic parochialism by fostering the growth of a new Singaporean identity that would underpin security and 28 n DISSENT / Spring 2000 prosperity...
...I would be appalled if I [were] asked to start off all over again . . . with the heavy knowledge of the almost irreconcilable divisions which were to open up...
...In such a context, there would be no point in applying the principle of ethnic inclusiveness...
...During my lectures on Mill, I had assumed that his views on imperialism were so obviously repugnant—especially in an Asian context— that there was no need to condemn them explicitly...
...As Lee put it, "We intend to fight for our stake in this part of the world, and [to] anybody who thinks they can push us around, I say: over my dead body...
...But the Chinese then would have wanted it...
...In 1963, Singapore, Malaya, Sarawak, and North Borneo formed a new federation—Malaysia...
...From the pedagogical point of view, this has the advantage of enhancing positive feelings about the students' own ethnic groups, thus developing individual self-esteem among members of all groups and improving their academic performance...
...In other societies, it may not always be easy to draw a line between the different groups (even in Singapore, there are overlapping categories, such as Indian Muslims...
...This time, I did not get any hate mail...
...We know the consequences...
...They're welcome to it...
...Khaldun drew on history and his own political experience to make his points...
...Let me try to respond to (what I take to be) some important objections...
...For example, the government broke up ethnic enclaves by moving people into ethnically mixed public housing blocs...
...DANIEL A. BELL teaches political philosophy at the University of Hong Kong...
...On the other hand, proponents of multiculturalism argue that students should study the diverse contributions of the various ethnic groups composing present-day plural societies...
...Courses that include material from Chinese thinkers may well attract and interest such students—and sensitize other students to the value of Chinese civilization...
...But it is difficult to know this in advance, prior to investigating the actual traditions...
...Singapore did not have any difficulty in winning international acceptance of its independence, but the economic and security challenges lying ahead seemed insurmountable...
...Lee is quite explicit that Singapore's nation-building exercise was incompatible with democracy: Supposing we had chosen Chinese or tried to sponsor Chinese, how would we make a living...
...v)by firing weapons concealed in the image of the deity at him...
...There is no reason why such works cannot be part of the curriculum for a course on democratic theory—and perhaps they should, in a class that includes students of ethnic Chinese descent...
...How would we fit ourselves into the region and into the world...
...The practice of competitive elections for selecting rulers may have been invented in the West, but not all the values informing and justifying democratic elections (such as the idea that people should have a say in government) are distinctly European...
...They say people can think for themselves...
...Quite the opposite—he should go out of his way to prey on people's superstitious beliefs to further his own ends...
...The Quebecois, for example, might be more motivated to study the works of French thinkers...
...I was dumbfounded by the latter accusation, until I realized that X must have been referring to my lectures on John Stuart Mill...
...His aim was nothing less than total state control, and he stressed over and over again that moral considerations should not get in the way...
...Beyond Singapore...
...As far as the feelings of the ministers go, they do not necessarily love their ruler...
...As Lee _ put it, "[We had] to build a nation from scratch...
...There was a farmer of Sung who tilled the land, and in his field was a stump...
...To fulfill my Islamic "quota," I selected Ibn Khaldun (1332 - 1406...
...The paradoxical effect of drawing on the scholarly contributions of (all) ethnic groups is to break down the barriers between them and reinforce the desire to coexist peacefully in the same society...
...More generally, multicultural education should draw on the traditions of all ethnic groups in society...
...One can be a proponent of Great Works and a multiculturalist—even a radical multiculturalist, to the point that the curriculum is determined by the scholarly traditions of all ethnic groups in the classroom...
...This cyclical process, Khaldun argues, is socially necessary, and moral ideals are powerless to stop it...
...Moreover, several students told me that they enjoyed studying thinkers from other traditions, and that this actually contributed to inter-ethnic harmony...
...I began with a Machiavellian checklist, suggesting that Machiavellian politiDISSENT / Spring 2000 n 31 POLITICS ABROAD cal thinkers have certain ideas about genre (practical handbooks for rulers), the ends of politics (maintenance and expansion of state power), the means of politics (expediency, not morality), human nature (prone to corruption and untrustworthy), and international relations (the pursuit of naked self-interest in an anarchical world...
...So it seemed reasonable to begin my political theory course with a leading Chinese political thinker who was both more straightforwardly Machiavellian and more politically influential than Machiavelli himself...
...We would disintegrate...
...The inclusiveness principle may lead to petty disputes about how much time should be spent on each tradition (in my case, I gave equal time to each group, and the majority Chinese students did not complain...
...iii)by dislodging a door on him...
...No doubt the particularities of the Singaporean context led me to this conclusion, but I will try to argue that there may be implications for other plural societies as well...
...As far as I could tell, no one felt left out...
...Notwithstanding these caveats, I still believe that the principle of ethnic inclusiveness in the educational curriculum may be relevant for other multicultural contexts—and that this does not necessarily involve compromising on Great Works...
...Disputes over economic policy and personality clashes between the leaders of Singapore and Malaya also played a role...
...Mikhail Bakunin was an obvious choice, but I made an effort to discuss the views of Chinese Daoist thinkers as well...
...He did not deny that a light hand in ruling had its place in a golden age of social harmony and material abundance...
...Kautilya's Arthasastra (fourth century BCE) is arguably the most famous political treatise in ancient Indian philosophy...
...Moreover, Singapore is perhaps a unique case, where there are three clearly defined ethnic groups, each of which takes pride in its own cultural heritage (and is encouraged to do so by the government...
...Perhaps some would have appreciated the opportunity to learn more about French writers (I must confess I did not notice this lacuna at the time, perhaps because I am "only" half francophone...
...The lesson I'd like to draw is obvious: a teacher should make an effort to design a curriculum that draws on the scholarly contributions of all ethnic groups in the class...
...Even "communist" countries like China now follow the Singaporean model of reliance on multinational corporations to import capital, provide employment, and build up management skills...
...Now if the ruler of men does not hide his feelings and conceal his motives, but instead gives his ministers a foothold by which they may invade his rights, then they will have no difficulty in doing what [those ministers] did...
...280-233 BCE...
...As a small country surrounded by large, potentially hostile, and predominantly Muslim neighbors, Singapore looked to Israel for guidance...
...Furthermore, I cast minority groups in a negative light—for example, I called Indians "barbarians...
...because the duke was fond of unusual food, Yi-ya steamed his son's head and offered it to the duke...
...Lee Kuan Yew famously wept in public when he announced the separation...
...Because Duke Huan of Ch'I was jealous and loved his ladies in waiting, Shu-tiao [a minister] castrated himself in order to be put in charge of the harem...
...ii) by letting loose a shower of stones from an upper story...
...But we knew the consequences...
...Still, I noticed—for the first time— that several male students of Indian descent were grouped together at the back of the class...
...The following year, I spent more time on the "Politics Without Morality" section of the course...
...Even second- or third-generation children of immigrants who willingly left their homelands sometimes identify with the contributions of their ancestors...
...So I included Kautilya and Khaldun in the course syllabus...
...But is this an accurate diagnosis of the situation in North America...
...Some long-established, settled communities—Will Kymlicka calls them "national minorities"—do in fact identify with, and take pride in, the scholarly contributions of their ancestors...
...Either I was trying to curry favor with my departmental head (a PAP parliamentarian of ethnic Chinese descent) or I was trying to help my Chinese wife climb within the PAP political establishment (my wife did work for a government think-tank, but she did not have any political aspirations...
...Ethnic attachments, however, proved to be more resilient than expected...
...Instead of "natural" assimilation into the majority culture, the children of immigrants will learn to identify with the culture of their ancestors, which can lead to conflicts with the majority culture that might otherwise be prevented...
...Like most nineteenth-century European liberals, Mill had nothing but 30 N DISSENT / Spring 2000 contempt for non-Western civilizations...
...In the early nineteenth century, Singapore was coloAn earlier version of this paper was presented at a conference, "Moral Philosophy in Education: The Challenge of Human Difference," in Jerusalem...
...It was not friendly...
...The PAP eventually gave up on the aim of replacing ethnic identity with a new Singaporean identity...
...But the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), led by Lee Kuan Yew, had doubts about the economic viability of a small independent island without any natural resources, and fought hard to join a federation with the surrounding territories...
...Do you honestly believe that the chap who can't pass primary six knows the consequences of his choice when he answers a question viscerally, on language, culture and religion...
...This was not difficult...
...Moreover, most non-Western societies have been in contact with Western liberal democratic ideas for over a century, and this has produced some fascinating debates over the pros and cons of Western-style democracy in this or that context...
...Instead of Machiavelli, however, I would draw on the ancient Chinese thinker Han Fei Tzu (c...
...I realized that I may have made one or two ironical references to "barbarians" and that the irony may not have been obvious to all students...
...Han Fei was a profoundly cynical—and very witty— proponent of realpolitik...
...Thus, the PAP felt it could not create a new identity by appealing to Chinese culture...
...This dynasty was short-lived, but Han Fei's influence persisted...
...nized by the British, who tried to turn the island into an important trading center...
...Of course, one should be cautious about exporting this "lesson" to other teaching contexts...
...We had no raw materials for them to exploit...
...And if we had taken a vote, we would have had to follow that policy...
...On the face of it, this was an absurd accusation—what could a newly arrived Canadian academic with no previous ties to the country gain from taking sides in local culture wars...
...Because Tzu-k'uai of Yen admired worthy men, Tzu-chih insisted that he would not accept the throne even if it were offered to him . . . . Hence, Tzu-chih, by playing the part of the worthy, was able to snatch power from his sovereign...
...First, a critic may note that I was led to my happy conclusion by the fact that a certain kind of political toughmindedness can be found in many different cultures...
...I then surveyed the four thinkers from the various traditions (including Machiavelli...
...I added that it was difficult to construe my presentation of Han Fei's ideas—for example, his claim that a minister would try to climb the political ladder by steaming his son's head for an emperor who was fond of unusual food—as an attempt to glorify Chinese political thinkers...
...The Malay minority in particular posed a challenge to the creation of national unity in Singapore, because its members were more inclined to side with Malays in the surrounding states than with the majority Chinese...
...Of course there are significant differences between POLITICS ABROAD the West and "the rest," but this too can be a topic of interest...
...Needless to say, I do not mean to rule out the possibility that Great Works on particular topics may be lacking in some traditions...
...ANOTHER OBJECTION iS that Some ethnic groups may not feel the kind of attachment to "their" tradition that would motivate further study...
...We opted for the Israeli fashion, for in our situation we think it might be necessary not only to train every boy but also every girl to be a disciplined and effective digit in defense of their country...
...The once brave nomads become soft, flabby, and docile to outsiders, and the dynasty eventually falls to new tribes bound by strong asabiyah...
...In retrospect, one can wonder about the effect of this curriculum on the large number (over 30 percent) of francophone students at McGill...
...Although the lectures were to be given in English, it was obvious that university authorities— following the general political trend in Singapore—were leaning toward a renewed emphasis on ethnic pride and heritage...
...X, who had a fertile imagination, suggested possible motives...
...if he shows what he likes, his ministers will feign abilities they do not have...
...Once I looked into it, I was pleasantly surprised...
...It also promoted the use of English, which involved overriding the wishes of all groups, including the majority Chinese...
...or (ix) by causing him to fall in a spiked pit by the release of a trap door in the floor under his bed or seat...
...This innovative strategy has underpinned Singapore's rapid economic development since the 1960s...
...DISSENT / Spring 2000 n 33...
...The expulsion was partly due to ethnic differences— mutual mistrust between the predominantly Chinese Singaporeans and their predominantly Muslim Malay neighbors...
...As Lee explained in his recent memoirs, "Of course, the prevailing theory was that multinationals were exploiters of cheap labor and cheap raw materials and would suck [us] dry...
...They often converse in Cantonese and Mandarin and retain a preference for Chinese food, and it is quite likely that they are interested in other parts of Chinese culture...
...And we found out that whether or DISSENT / Spring 2000 n 27 POLITICS ABROAD not they exploited us, we were learning how to do a job from them, which we would never have learnt...
...I made a distinction between presenting and defending arguments...
...My own teaching experience in Singapore led me to the perhaps surprising conclusion that these two desiderata do not necessarily conflict in practice...
...For example, second- or third-generation immigrants in the United States or Canada may not identify with the cultural background and scholarly achievements of their blood ancestors...
...According to Khaldun, asabiyah (group feeling), the tribal loyalty that makes the individual devote himself to the tribe, is the key to political power...
...It is also conceivable that learning about another group's tradition will promote conflict rather than understanding...
...Those who think they can take the ways of ancient kings and use them to govern the people of today all belong in the category of stump-watchers...
...In North America, however, the forces of assimilation are so strong that learning about the contributions of immigrant cultures in a few high school and university courses will not prevent the ultimate "victory" of mainstream culture...
...Students seemed to be more motivated to learn about scholarly traditions that they took pride in—notwithstanding the fact that the political thinkers surveyed often held unsavory views...
...When I was made aware of the need to include the contributions of Muslim and Indian civilizations, I had no idea that great political thinkers in those traditions had developed arguments that could be compared in interesting ways to Machiavelli's ideas...
...Opponents of multiculturalism may reply that there is a risk of unintentionally creating or reinforcing boundaries between students...
...Lee's government invited a group of Israeli military advisers to provide covert training of Singapore's defense force, and in 1967 Singapore introduced an Israeli-style policy of compulsory military national service (but only for adult males...
...its current population is nearly four million...
Vol. 47 • April 2000 • No. 2
