Is the Kampong Spirit still alive? The Housing Development Board (HDB) is responsible for the provision of public housing in Singapore, which serves over 80% of the population. In an effort to encourage bonding and friendliness among neighbours, HDB has organized initiatives such as HDB Community Week, which was held this year on 25 and […]

What are the complexities in planning for Singapore’s National Education modules? On 17 May 1997, then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong launched the National Education programme, which aimed to foster national cohesion and cultivate a sense of belonging, pride, and patriotism among students and younger Singaporeans. Subsequently, Singapore’s universities were instructed to include National […]

Emeritus Professor Edwin Thumboo from the NUS Department of English Language and Literature was recently featured in The Straits Times for his latest poetry collection, A Gathering of Themes (Ethos Books, 2019). Prof Thumboo is one of Singapore’s foremost pioneer poets, and has achieved several accolades such as the first Cultural Medallion for literature and […]

How did the Indian ‘untouchable’ disappear from Singapore? India’s caste system is an ancient one, and still has ramifications today. However, despite the sizable minority of Indians in modern Singapore, many of whom were of the lowest ‘untouchable’ caste, both the system and its accompanying prejudices appear to have vanished. In A Subaltern History of […]

Here are the photos from last Tuesday’s Joint Book Launch. Thank you for coming and making it a great session! See you at our next Book Launch in the Fall Semester!

In a joint book launch on 7 May 2019, the issues of transnational migration and marriage in India, China, and Singapore came together with the release of Citizens in Motion: Emigration, Immigration, and Re-migration (2019, Stanford University Press) by Associate Professor Elaine Ho (NUS Department of Geography) and Marrying for a Future: Transnational Sri Lankan […]

In light of transnational migration and an ageing population, how is Singapore adapting to face the challenges of modern society, especially in caring for its older citizens? Associate Professor Elaine Ho from the NUS Department of Geography elaborates on how ageing and migration can interweave to meet the increasing needs of healthcare in Singapore. On […]

In line with the Bicentennial, the NUS Department of Southeast Asian Studies organised a conference on ancient harbours, titled ‘Singapura before Raffles: Archaeology and the Seas, 400BCE – 1600CE’, which was recently featured in The Straits Times.   Supported by the National Heritage Board (NHB), the conference is the second of its kind to be […]

  At the inaugural Diversity and Singapore Ethnic Chinese Communities International Conference, academics both from local and overseas institutions gathered to discuss issues surrounding the Singapore Chinese community, foremost among them the changing notions of a Singaporean Chinese identity in light of a diverse and global world. Featured in a Straits Times article were Professors […]

On 5 May 1986, the 24-episode historical drama Samsui Women aired on television. Produced by the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (now Mediacorp), the television show highlights the travails of the Samsui women, who left their families in the Samsui area of Guangdong, China in the 1930s to migrate to Singapore in search of a livelihood. Today […]