ABSTRACT

Neoliberalism is a pervasive hegemonic phenomena that manifests in variegated ways which can be associated with the numerous trajectories that it undertakes as it pervades various geographical contexts. This paper examines the metaphorical representations of neoliberal logics in the Singapore higher education context with the aim of elucidating how neoliberalism is applied towards particular objectives that are deemed as necessary and relevant by the Singapore state. The paper focuses specifically on the discourse of future-orientedness as state-sanctioned neoliberal ideal and utilises conceptual metaphor theory, in particular metaphor scenarios, to show how the discourse of future-orientedness is represented under the associated theme of being ready to face/facing challenges. Corporate newsletters from two Singapore universities, NUS and SMU, with their varied institutional backgrounds, are utilised for the analysis. What emerges from the analysis is a representation of the ideal neoliberal subject as agent, with characteristics of preparedness, being well-equipped, and possession of the ability to embrace change and move forward into an unknown, possibly adverse future. This representation is then linked to the specific context of Singapore, with its particular contextual factors that have enabled the entrenchment of particular types of hegemonic neoliberal logics as neoliberal ideal valorised by the state.

摘要

新自由主义是一种普遍存在的霸权现象，以多种多样的方式表现出来，可以与它在各种地理环境中所采取的众多轨迹相关联。本文研究了新加坡高等教育背景下新自由主义逻辑的隐喻表征，目的是阐明新自由主义如何应用于新加坡政府认为必要和相关的特定目标。本文特别关注作为国家认可的新自由主义理想的未来导向的话语，并利用概念隐喻理论，特别是隐喻场景，展示未来导向的话语如何在准备面对/面对的相关主题下表达挑战。来自新加坡两所大学 NUS 和 SMU 的企业通讯，具有不同的机构背景，被用于分析。从分析中得出的是理想的新自由主义主体作为代理人的表现，其特征是准备好、装备精良、拥有接受变化和前进到未知的、可能不利的未来的能力。然后，这种表述与新加坡的特定语境相关联，其特定的语境因素使特定类型的霸权新自由主义逻辑得以巩固，成为由国家赋予的新自由主义理想。并拥有接受变化并进入未知的、可能不利的未来的能力。然后，这种表述与新加坡的特定语境相关联，其特定的语境因素使特定类型的霸权新自由主义逻辑得以巩固，成为由国家赋予的新自由主义理想。并拥有接受变化并前进到未知的、可能不利的未来的能力。然后，这种表述与新加坡的特定语境相关联，其特定的语境因素使特定类型的霸权新自由主义逻辑得以巩固，成为由国家赋予的新自由主义理想。