Dissertation Research: Local Identities in Transnational Formation

本项目涉及加州大学圣克鲁斯分校一名人类学专业学生的学位论文研究。该项目将研究澳门人的文化认同的变化，澳门是中国南岸的葡萄牙殖民地，澳门即将于1999年12月20日回归中国。随着向中国城市转变的临近，不同的人口已经将他们的文化身份定义为葡萄牙和中国文化的独特融合。该项目将研究的具体问题是，不断变化的跨国流动和身份认同形式如何赋予旧的殖民社会类别新的含义，以及文化本身如何、何时以及对谁来说成为一个有意义的类别。这名学生将在澳门采访四个群体：澳门历史博物馆(将定义澳门独特的遗产)的建设者；两所中学的学生、教师和管理人员(从事世代传播当地文化和处理殖民主义历史)；邻里协会和本土组织的成员(关注定义和维护当地传统)；以及即将返回中国家乡的澳门居民。学生将收集生活史，进行参与者观察，并就转变身份的主题进行正式面试。此外，这名学生还将前往北京，就政策问题采访港澳办成员，并对中国-澳门-葡萄牙关系史进行档案研究。这项研究之所以重要，是因为它将通过这一独特的政治变革案例，促进我们对跨国和地方政治文化认同形成的全球过程的理解。文化特性牵涉到许多国家和国际危机(如前南斯拉夫或中非)，种族、民族、侨民、城市、殖民地和文明的观念在这些国家和国际危机中争论不休，并不是相互排斥的。这一案例研究将提供有价值的比较信息，以帮助理解这些当代进程。

This project involves the dissertation research of an anthropology student from the University of California-Santa Cruz. The project will study the changes in cultural identity of people in Macau, a Portuguese colony on the south coast of China, in light of the imminent reversion of the colony to China on 12/20/99. In light of the approaching conversion into a Chinese city the diverse populations have been defining their cultural identity as a unique blend of Portuguese and Chinese cultures. The specific questions the project will study are how changing forms of transnational mobility and identity give new meanings to old colonial social categories, and how, when, and for whom culture itself has become a meaningful category. The student will interview four groups in Macau: people building the Macau Museum of History (which will define Macau's unique heritage); students, teachers and administrators from two middle schools (engaged in transmitting the local culture across generations as well as dealing with the history of colonialism); members of neighborhood associations and native-place organizations (concerned about defining and maintaining local traditions); and residents of Macau who are returning to their hometowns in China. The student will collect life histories, conduct participant observation, and engage in formal interviews on the subject of changing identity. In addition the student will travel to Beijing to interview members of the Hong Kong and Macau affairs office about policy issues and to conduct archival research on the history of Chinese-Macau-Portugal relations. This research is important because it will advance our understanding of a global process of transnational and local political cultural identity formation through this unique case of political change. Cultural identities are involved in many cases of national and international crises (e.g., the former Yugoslavia or central Africa), where ideas of race, nation, Diaspora, city, colony and civilization are hotly contested and not mutually exclusive. This case study will provide valuable comparative information to help understand these contemporary processes.