This open access book undertakes a sociological investigation of life in Brunei Darussalam, often portrayed as one of the most self-contained, secretive, and resolutely monarchical countries in Southeast Asia. Besides its natural resource wealth and Malay Islamic monarchy, everyday life in this micro-state remains relatively closed off to the outside world, and its scholarship. This is in part due to a tendency in mainstream, Western-centric social science to overlook the intersubjective ways in which individuals manage social and cultural material within the context of everyday life. This collection of scholarly observations and experiences of life at a range of sites across Brunei Darussalam over the last ten years are woven together from four interrelated parts covering religious life, issues of gender, the space of place, and ethnic formation. By taking the reader into the lives of everyday Bruneians, the book gives a composite and inside-out view of Brunei Darussalam that foregrounds its nuanced diversity. At the same time, it encourages a more critical reflection on the ways in which the authors approach the study of everyday life in Southeast Asia. It is a key text for geographers and sociologists studying Southeast Asia, and is relevant to graduate students and scholars researching religion, gender, race, ethnicity, and identity formation in the region.

Presents a sociological investigation of everyday life in Brunei Darussalam Offers Bruneian perspectives on religious life, gender issues, the space of place, and identity Gives a composite and inside-out view of Brunei Darussalam This book is open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access

Autorentext
Lian Kwen Fee is Professor of Sociology at the Institute of Asian Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam. His research interests are race and ethnicity, multiculturalism, migration, and the politics of identity. His most recent edited books are 'Multiculturalism, Migration, and the Politics of Identity in Singapore' (2016), 'International Migration in Southeast Asia: Continuities and Discontinuities' (2016), and 'International Labour Migration in the Middle East and Asia; Issues of Inclusion and Exclusion' (2019), all published by Springer.

Paul J. Carnegie is Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at the Institute of Asian Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam. His research specializes in comparative democratization and human security in Southeast Asia. His works include The Road from Authoritarianism to Democratization in Indonesia (Palgrave Macmillan) and Human Insecurities in Southeast Asia (Springer) alongside research output in leading international journals. He has lived and worked previously in Australia, Egypt, Fiji, and the United Arab Emirates.

Dr. Noor Hasharina Hassan is Deputy Director for the Office of Assistant Vice Chancellor (Research), Head of the Borneo Studies Network Secretariat and Research Associate with the Institute of Asian Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam. She lectures in Geography, Environment and Development with research interests in sustainable city development, consumption culture and poverty studies in Brunei and Borneo. She has previously been Visiting Research Fellow at King's College London and Visiting Scholar at the East West Centre, Hawaii.

Inhalt
Introduction: Towards a Sociology of the Everyday in Brunei Darussalam.- Traditional Malay Marriage Ceremonies in Brunei Darussalam: Between.- Halal Certification in Brunei Darussalam: Bureaucratisation in Everyday Life.- Youth Religiosity and Social Media in Brunei Darussalam.- Food Choices and the Malay Muslim Middle Class in Brunei Darussalam.- Learning Gender in a Malay Muslim Society in Brunei Darussalam.- Older Malay Muslim Women in Brunei Darussalam: A Non-Western Conception of Aging.- Domestic Maids (Amah) in Malay Households in Brunei Darussalam.- Pengangun: Female Ritual Specialists for Malay Weddings in Brunei Darussalam.- Belonging and Unbelonging in Kampong Ayer, Brunei Darussalam.- The Sociocultural Significance of Homeownership in Brunei Darussalam.- Merantau: The Worldview and Praxis of Javanese Migrants in Brunei Darussalam.- Negotiating Assimilation and Hybridity: The Identity of Chinese-Malays in Brunei Darussalam.- Zoomers in Brunei Darussalam: Language Use, SocialInteraction and Identity.- From Migrants to Citizens: The Iban of Melilas Longhouse, Brunei Darussalam.