Liao Yiran 廖依然

Education:
B.A., (Hons) in Chinese Studies, National University of Singapore (2018)
M.A., National University of Singapore (2020)

Research Interest:
Modern Chinese Literature and Cultures; Cultural Cold War in Asia; Sound Studies; Singapore and Malaya Cultural History

Self-Introduction:
I have always enjoyed moving between different roles and experiences. I have worked as a Teaching Assistant at the NUS Department of Chinese Studies, a researcher at a local Teochew cultural research centre, and a freelance event planner. I have also contributed to the editing and compilation of cultural book series and literary magazines, while occasionally writing poetry and other creative pieces. My current projects include “The Contested Constructions of ‘Malayanization’: Radio Malaya in the Cultural Cold War, 1946–1963” and “National Consciousness and the Construction of ‘Singapore Children’ after Independence: A Study of Singapore Children, 1973–1979.”

Thesis Advisor: A/P Xu Lanjun

Thesis Title:Entanglements On-Air: Sonic Ecologies of Sinophone Broadcasting in Cold War Singapore and Malaya, 1940s-1970s

Thesis Research Area:
This thesis examines Cold War Sinophone broadcasting in Singapore and Malaya, focusing on Radio Malaya, Radio Singapore, Rediffusion, and the Voice of the Malayan Revolution. It conceptualizes these interconnected broadcasting systems as a dynamic Sinophone broadcasting ecology shaped by technologies, institutions, transregional networks, and everyday listening. By tracing their interactions, competition and entanglements, the study approaches Cold War everyday life through sound and reconstructs a cultural history of Singapore and Malaya mediated by listening.