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Civil Religion and the Invention of Traditions: Constructing ‘The Singapore Nation’

August 10, 2016

Singapore celebrated its 51st National Day on 9th August 2016 and we were all treated to the spectacular National Day Parade. What is the significance of organizing this annual parade? Prof Lily Kong (Provost’s Chair Professor, Dept of Geography) investigates this question in a 2007 article, “Civil Religion and the Invention of Traditions: Constructing ‘The …

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Jiao Huan

July 25, 2016

‘Jiao Huan’ is featured in A Collection of Micro Novels by Dr Wong Meng Voon (黄孟文微型小说自选集) . Best known for his contributions to the genre of micro-fiction, Wong Meng Voon, who also writes under the pen name Meng Yi (孟毅), became Singapore’s first Chinese-language literature recipient of the Cultural Medallion in 1981. He went on …

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Tu Shu Guan

July 12, 2016

The library is a repository of knowledge and an important pillar for any educational institution. In this reflective essay, ‘Tu Shu Guan’ (图书馆) which means Library, Wong Wai Kit vividly expresses his sentiments about the NUS Library, and characterizes it as the heart and soul of the university. Wong’s experience resonates among us. Wong’s essay …

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Making Sense of an Evolving Identity: A Survey of Studies on Identity and Identity Formation among Malay-Muslims in Singapore

July 6, 2016

‘Making Sense of an Evolving Identity: A Survey of Studies on Identity and Identity Formation among Malay-Muslims in Singapore’ by A/P Khairudin Aljunied (FASS Dept of Malay Studies) was published in Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs in 2006. The article serves as the first extensive survey of studies on Malay identity in Singapore in which A/P Aljunied …

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The Collected Poems of Arthur Yap

June 28, 2016

Dr Arthur Yap Chioh Hiong is a distinguished Singaporean poet. He obtained his MA from the University of Leeds on a British Council Scholarship and his PhD from NUS. In 1971, Yap published his first collection of poems, Only Lines, which later won an award from the National Book Development Council. He went on to …

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“Cultural fit”: A new perspective on personality and sojourner adjustment

June 19, 2016

‘“Cultural fit”: A new perspective on personality and sojourner adjustment’, published in International Journal of Intercultural Relations (1997) is authored by Prof Colleen Ward, former faculty member, and Dr Weining Chang, Adjunct Professor at Duke-NUS Graduate School of Medicine. The study aims to investigate the influence of “cultural fit” on sojourner adjustment by surveying 139 …

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Sonnet to an Arrival: Changi Airtropolis

June 14, 2016

‘Sonnet to an Arrival: Changi Airtropolis’ comes from the compilation, ‘Singapore: places, poems, paintings’ by Heng Siok Tian. The poem compares Changi’s aviation technology to the myth of Icarus, questioning if Icarus would have thought of the kind of “techno-sophistry” found in Changi. At the same time, the poem discusses the sacrifices that had to …

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Cat’s Entertainment: Feline Performance in the Lion City

May 31, 2016

‘Cat’s Entertainment: Feline Performance in the Lion City’, published in 2007 in TDR (The Drama Review), is authored by Dr Paul Rae, former faculty member in the Department of English Language and Literature. Interestingly, Dr Rae is allergic to cats. The article talks about Singha, the Courtesy Lion, and the Merlion, a touristic icon, which …

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Creative Work Highlight: Pan Shou and Singapore Culture

May 24, 2016

An outstanding poet and calligrapher, Pan Shou remains a revered cultural icon of Singapore and model for the Chinese elite of the country. Published in 1998 and edited by NUS Prof Edwin Thumboo and Wong Yoon Wah, the book Pan Shou and Singapore Culture (潘受诗书艺术论文集) delves deeper into Pan Shou’s artistic and literary achievements, and …

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Urban Imagery and the Main Street of the Nation: The Legibility of Orchard Road in the Eyes of Singaporeans

May 10, 2016

This paper, published in 1996 in the Urban Studies journal, was authored by Henry Wai-chung Yeung and Victor R Savage, faculty members at the Department of Geography, FASS, National University of Singapore. It applies Kevin Lynch’s famous thesis of legibility to the main street of Singapore – Orchard Road. It is primarily concerned with three …

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