Events

CHAIRPERSON

Dr Adam Cheung, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore.

ABSTRACT

Family and divorce literature has largely focused on the undesirable consequences of divorce, specifically in the areas of finances, accommodation, interpersonal relationships and emotional wellbeing. Although research studies emphasising the negative effects of divorce constitute an important lens through which to study divorce, it is certainly not the only one. My research finds insufficient attention has been given to the constructive outcomes of the divorce experience. My study seeks to present a nuanced understanding of divorce by discussing both the precarious and productive aspects of the experience. Using the framework of what I call a divorce biography, I explore how Singaporean divorced individuals dissolve their unsatisfying marriage, cope with the crisis, negotiate associated risks, acquire post-divorce support, re-orientate their sense of self, reconfigure their personal community and make plans for the future. Through the engagement and extension of theorisations on individualisation and contemporary organisation of personal relationships, and analysis of empirical data collected from in-depth interviews with Singaporean divorced respondents, my research reveals the interplay of individual choice, personal relationships and contexts in post-divorce trajectories. It also explores how the life-changing event might provide opportunities for productivity, creativity, self-responsibility, relationship formation and personal growth despite the precarity of the divorce experience.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Sharon Quah is a postdoctoral fellow with the Changing Family in Asia Cluster at the Asia Research Institute. She recently received her PhD from The University of Sydney in April 2013. She graduated with Master of Social Science (Applied Sociology) in 2002 and Bachelor of Arts (Chinese Studies and Chinese Language) in 1998 from the National University of Singapore. Her PhD research project titled, ‘Far from crippling’: Divorce, individualisation and personal communities, investigates the subjective experience of Australian and Singaporean divorcees. Her research interests include contemporary organisation of personal life, family, divorce, friendship, risk and individualisation. At ARI, she is completing a book manuscript for a forthcoming sole-authored monograph (Perspectives on Marital Dissolution: Divorce Biographies in Singapore) published by Springer. She is also publishing from her dissertation and conducting a more extensive research on divorce, single parenting and alternative family arrangements in Singapore.

REGISTRATION

Admission is free. We would greatly appreciate if you RSVP Mr Jonathan Lee via email: jonathan.lee@nus.edu.sg