Histories Series – The Shape of Singapore’s Social and Urban History
December 26, 2018
Histories Series – The Shape of Singapore’s Social and Urban History
We welcome all interested parties to attend a National Library Board panel discussion on “The Shape of Singapore’s Social and Urban History”. NUS History alumnus and current Director at Chronicles Research and Education Pte. Ltd. Dr Loh Kah Seng will be speaking at the event. His 2013 book titled Squatters into Citizens: The 1961 Bukit Ho Swee Fire and the Making of Modern Singapore (NUS Press, 2013) recounted his experience of living in the one-room flats built after the infamous 1961 Bukit Ho Swee fire. The fire had a huge impact in Singapore history as its aftermath sparked a national emergency which left 16,000 people homeless. It compelled the Housing Development Board (HDB) to commence the large-scale building of HDB flats, which now house 80% of the population. The book’s narrative illuminates the everyday life of the people who had to be relocated into the new flats and showed how it differed from when they were living in squatter ‘kampongs’.
Dr Loh will be joined by Professor James F. Warren, an Emeritus Professor of Southeast Asian Modern History at Murdoch University, and Assistant Professor Lee Kah-Wee, Associate Director of the Master of Urban Planning programme at the National University of Singapore. Together, they will critically discuss the evolution of Singapore’s social history and offer insights as to where the field might develop in the future.
The Histories Series highlights research on historical matters in Singapore and Southeast Asia, recognizing the importance of research in the humanities and social sciences in contemporary society. The event details are as follows:
- Thursday, 17 January 2019
- 7.00 pm – 9.00 pm
- Level 16, The Pod, National Library Building
- For access to The Pod, please proceed to the lift lobby opposite
the information counter at Level 1 - Admission is free
Please click on the link to register: https://www.nlb.gov.sg/golibrary2/e/histories-series-the-shape-of-singapores-social-and-urban-history-70375954?fbclid=IwAR2GdQY5E7IGv94JSCX-NsTiBavgQXnA2x2TI-wEVsaNje0dUJIvugz0O9A