The Social Sciences in Asia Monograph Series was initiated by the editorial team of the Asian Journal of Social Science at the Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore. This Series was originally called, Asian Social Science Series, with Brill and Times Academic Press co-publishing the first three volumes between 2001 and 2002. It was renamed 'Social Sciences in Asia' in 2003 and now carries only the Brill imprint. Published under the imprint of Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, the Series publishes original material and revised editions of special issues of the Asian Journal of Social Science. All manuscripts are reviewed anonymously by two expert readers in the field. The Series welcomes submissions from sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, economists, geographers, historians and cultural studies specialists working on any aspect of Asia. Its inter-disciplinary orientation serves to encompass a broad range of theoretical and substantive interests. It has thus far published 4 monographs and several others are in the pipeline at various stages of production. The editors welcome all queries and feedback. Please e-mail inquiries to: socsfa@nus.edu.sg, socvs@nus.edu.sg or tmkchris@hkbu.edu.hk

Alternate Identities: The Chinese in Contemporary Thailand Edited by Tong Chee Kiong & Chan Kwok Bun (2001) ISBN: 981210142X Singapore : Times Academic Press, Leiden :Brill

This is the first volume of the Asian Social Science Series. It explores the question: who are Chinese in Thailand ? Are they “assimilated Thais” or are they “Chinese” living in Thailand ? Does their being “in” Thailand make them “of” Thailand ? Anthropologists and sociologists have debated these issues for decades. Through a collection of authoritative essays, this book explores how the Chinese of Thailand constantly alternate their positions within the fabric of the Thai society. It captures the multiple faces of identity within a web f interlocking forces and influences such as religion, class, politics gender and generation. For those seeing the composite image of what it means to be a Chinese, this book holds up many intriguing mirrors.

The Making of Singapore Sociology, State and Society
Edited by Tong Chee Kiong & Lian Kwen Fee (2002) ISBN: 9812101985 Singapore : Times Academic Press, Leiden :Brill

This collection of 14 papers on the sociology of Singapore society brings together a substantial body of otherwise somewhat inaccessable professional knowledge and research. Both significant sociological work done in recent years and areas for further research are presented. The papers in Part 1 deal with the areas of urban studies, the family, education, work, medical sociology, and class and social stratification. Part 2, under the heading `modernity', looks at "race" and ethnic relations, at specified ethnic groups, at language and religion and at crime and deviance. Each paper is referenced and the volume will serve as a basic resource for all students of the social sciences in the Singapore context.

Critical Reflections on Cities in Southeast Asia
Edited by Tim Bunnell, Lisa B.W. Drummond and K.C. Ho (2003)
ISBN 981 210 192 6 Singapore: Times Academic Press, Leiden :Brill

Critical Reflections draws together the multi-disciplinary research of scholars working in/on cities across Southeast Asia. The fourteen essays collected in the volume are organised into three thematic sections: (re)conceptualisation, competition and intervention. Collectively, these reflections contribute to and interrogate the expanding urban and regional studies literature. The volume constitutes a critical corrective to the existing literature which all-too-often seeks to diagnose contemporary urban trends everywhere from a small number of, mostly Western, "paradigmatic cases". Yet, while acknowledging the increasing interconnectedness and shared global orientation of most cities in Southeast Asia, the volume is wary of positing an equally generalising regional model. Individually, these essays attend to the diversity of contemporary urban experiences in Southeast Asia.

Old Challenges, New Strategies Women, Work and Family in Contemporary Asia
Edited by Leng Leng Thang and Wei-Hsin Yu (2004)
ISBN 90 04 13732 7 Leiden :Brill.

The essays in this volume explore women's working and family lives in contemporary East and Southeast Asia , focusing on conflict between family and work roles, structural obstacles in the workplace, and the impact of state policies on women's well-being. It also discusses strategies that women employ in response to structural contraints provided in the context. This volume covers a particularly wide range of societies, some of which were rarely studied, in contemporary Asia . By comparing these ten Asian economies that are at different stages of economic development, the volume demonstrates the way in which gender relations transform in the course of development. The book is particularly important for sociologists and anthropologists who are interested in gender and economic development.

A State of Ambivalence The Feminist Movement in Singapore Lenore Lyons (2004) ISBN 90 04 131396 Leiden : Brill.

This book examines the contemporary feminist movement in Singapore through an in-depth case study of the locally-based Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE). It examines the meanings attached to feminist activism by AWARE members, including the use of the label 'feminist' as a self-identifier by both individuals as well as the organisation as a whole. By exploring the range of activities that AWARE has been involved in since the mid-1980s, the text describes in detail the fraught relationship between feminism and the state in Singapore . The author uses the framework of transnational feminism to explore the ways in which gender, race/ethnicity, and class intersect in the construction of historically and culturally specific feminisms. The book will be of interest to scholars from a range of disciplines, including those working on gender studies, feminist history, and Southeast Asian studies.

Times of Change A Memoir of Hong Kong 's Governance 1950-1991 Eric Peter Ho (2005) ISBN 90 04 140476 Leiden : Brill.

A Hong Kong native who joined the expatriate dominated civil service of that territory, the author describes the institutional barriers he encountered. Prejudice and frustrations notwithstanding, he eventually reaches the top level of the service.
Starting as an income tax assessor, Eric Ho worked successively in expenditure control, fisheries, external commercial relations, and communications between the government and the people. He emerges as policy co-ordinator for education, health, welfare and manpower services, and then returns to the trade and industry field. Next to this, he served on the Joint Liaison Group established under the Sino-British Agreement which returned Hong Kong to China .
With its observations on changing attitudes and accounts of certain international negotiations, this book will be of interest to historians, scholars and the general reader.

Local and Global: Social Transformation in Southeast Asia Essays in Honour of Professor Syed Hussein Alatas Edited by Riaz Hassan (2005) ISBN 90 04 141588 Leiden : Brill.

Globalization, modernization and colonialism have played a pivotal role in the social transformation of Southeast Asian societies. The essays in this volume examine three aspects of this transformation: social change and development, the role of intellectuals, religion and cultural values. The volume honours the distinguished Malaysian sociologist Syed Hussein Alatas and his seminal contributions to the sociology of Southeast Asian societies. They have been written by his present and former colleagues, friends and students. Their contributions, reflect, complement and extend the influence of his ideas on contemporary research and social science scholarship.

Race, Ethnicity, and the State in Malaysia and Singapore
Edited by Lian Kwen Fee (2006) ISBN 90 04 15096 X Leiden: Brill

Because Malaysia and Singapore share a common colonial, migration, and political history the racial/ethnic composition of the two societies are unsurprisingly similar. However since 1965 state/nation-formation has taken separate trajectories, and this has had a differential impact on the processes of racialization and ethnicization in the two countries.
The contributions in this volume examine how various groups - namely the Chinese, Malays, Tamils, Eurasian, and Orang Asli - have accomodated or resisted the dominant influence of the state in incorporating and subordinating them.
Students and scholars of race and ethnicity will be interested in this work as it is the first attempt to bring together the work of several writers in documenting the consequences of state policies on ethnic-formation in the region, and raises theoretical issues relevant to this.

Social Policy in Post-Industrial Singapore
Edited by Lian Kwen Fee & Tong Chee Kiong (2008) ISBN 978 90 04 16642 4 Leiden: Brill

Notwithstanding the lean years that followed 1986 and 1997, sustained economic growth since the late 1970s has propelled Singapore into the post-industrial age and reproduced the demographic and social structure of advanced western societies. The rapid shift to a knowledge-intensive economy requiring highly-skilled services has resulted in a 'two-speed' society consisting of a highly competitive but rewarding sector and a marginalized population that is increasingly at risk. Being avowedly anti-welfarist, the state for ideological reasons has resisted pressures to introduce a comprehensive welfare regime for its risk population, preferring to privilege its productive citizenry. Is Singapore a counter-factual to the convergence thesis, by preferring to put in place a social policy driven by the belief of its leaders that the most successful a society is the more it is able to care for those who fall behind?