Imagining Singapore

Imagining Singapore is the first comprehensive study on the history of Pictorial photography in Singapore. Drawing from interviews, unpublished historical data and newly discovered photographs, the book unveils a fascinating aspect of visual culture and its links to global Pictorialism.

In the decades since her defeat in the Second World War, Japan has continued to loom large in the national imagination of many of her East Asian neighbours. While for many, Japan still conjures up images of rampant military brutality, at different times and in different communities, alternative images of the Japanese ‘Other’ have vied for predominance – in ways that remain poorly understood, not least within Japan itself. Imagining Japan in Postwar East Asia analyses the portrayal of Japan in the societies of East and Southeast Asia, and asks how and why this has changed in recent decades, and what these changing images of Japan reveal about the ways in which these societies construct their own identities. It examines the role played by an imagined ‘Japan’ in the construction of national selves across the East Asian region, as mediated through a broad range of media ranging from school curricula and textbooks to film, television, literature and comics. Commencing with an extensive thematic and comparative overview chapter, the volume also includes contributions focusing specifically on Chinese societies (the mainland PRC, Hong Kong and Taiwan), Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. These studies show how changes in the representation of Japan have been related to political, social and cultural shifts within the societies of East Asia – and in particular to the ways in which these societies have imagined or constructed their own identities. Bringing together contributors working in the fields of education, anthropology, history, sociology, political science and media studies, this interdisciplinary volume will be of interest to all students and scholars concerned with issues of identity, politics and culture in the societies of East Asia, and to those seeking a deeper understanding of Japan’s fraught relations with its regional neighbours.

This book explores the unique Singapore experience: its internal landscape, how the landscape came about, was conceived of and conceptualised, and how the imagination played and continues to play an important role in such conceptions. the collected essays, cover a wide range of topics relating to Singapore society. These include historiography, resource and recreational planning, bilingualism and population management, religion and politics, and gender. A common thread tying together these essays is the mental construction of reality from which thinking proceeds. This new edition features two new essays ("Imagining Freedom" and "Imagining the Singapore Economy in the Next Lap"), revisions and updates to the original essays, and a new preface by the editors.

Taking off from the apt epigram that "... language, after all, is a purely historical phenomenon", these sociolinguistic analyses present debates over how language ideologies are formed, articulated, and entextualized. The editor's opening and final essays entitled "the debate is open" and "the debate is closed" bookend ten debates relating to language, identity, and political power: French-into-Corsican translations, dialect in Switzerland, Catalan vs. Spanish in Barcelona since the 1992 Olympics, Canada's linguistic cultures, bilingual education in the US, Ebonics, Singapore's "Speak Mandarin' campaign, the revival status of Israeli Hebrew, and European tongues and literary genres in postcolonial Africa.

Perspectives on the Security of Singapore: The First 50 Years explores the security of Singapore in the last 50 years and its possible trajectories into the future. This volume brings together the diverse perspectives of a team of academics with different expertise, ranging from history to political science to security studies with a common interest in Singapore. The book is further boosted by the recollections of key civil servants involved with foreign affairs and defence, such as S R Nathan, Peter Ho, Bilahari Kausikan and Philip Yeo. Contents:IntroductionPart 1:Singapore's Conception of Security (Ang Cheng Guan)National Security and Singapore: An Assessment (Norman Vasu and Bernard Loo)Deliquescent Security Threats: Singapore in the Era of Hyper-Globalisation (Alan Chong)Singapore and Global Governance: Free-Rider or Responsible Stakeholder? (Tan See Seng)The Challenge of Strategic Intelligence for the Singapore Armed Forces (Kwa Chong Guan)Desecuritisation and after Desecuritisation: The Water Issue in Singapore–Malaysia Relations (S R Joey Long)Singapore's Security in the Context of Singapore–Malaysia–Indonesia Relations (Bilveer Singh)Singapore's Relations with Malaysia and Indonesia (Theophilus Kwek and Joseph Chinyong Liow)International Missions of the Singapore Armed Forces: How Far Would You Go? (Katie Tan and Ong Weichong)Why the FPDA Still Matters to Singapore (Ralf Emmers)Singapore in ASEAN's Quest toward a Security Community (Mely Caballero-Anthony)Singapore and the Great Powers (Khong Yuen Foong)The Changing Terrorist Threat Landscape in Singapore (Rohan Gunaratna)Managing Religious Diversity in Singapore: Context and Challenges (Mohammad Alami Musa and Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib)Part 2:Personal ReminiscencesSafeguarding Singapore's Security: Defence and Diplomacy (S R Nathan)Organising for National Security — The Singapore Experience (Peter Ho)Pragmatic Adaptation, Not Grand Strategy, Shaped Singapore Foreign Policy (Bilahari Kausikan)Dr Goh Keng Swee and the Building of Singapore's Defence Industrial Capability (Philip Yeo)Conclusion: Strategic Certainties Facing Singapore in 2065 (Barry Desker) Readership: Undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and academics, and general public interested in security studies in general and in Singapore. Key Features:This is possibly the first scholarly collective effort/book on the subject of security of SingaporeThe contributors are academics within (and associated with) the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), the only school cum think-tank that specialises in security issues in SingaporeThe contributors include former top civil servants who played a significant role in the shaping and conduct of Singapore's foreign and defence policiesKeywords:Security;Foreign Policy;Singapore

Understanding Singapore Politics is written to address the dearth of a succinct overview on Singapore politics. This introductory text looks at the factors that shape the island-republic's domestic politics, the key institutions and issues in the city-state, electoral power as well as the political direction Singapore is likely to take in a post-Lee Kuan Yew era. The specific institutions covered for discussion include the mass media, trade unions, civil service and grassroots organisations. The role of civil and civic society, including pressures for democratisation, is also examined. In addition, various new political issues — the importance of race, income equality and migration — and their implications are discussed. Finally, the linkage between Singapore's domestic and foreign policy is analysed. This foundational guide to Singapore politics is recommended for anyone who has an interest or a stake in the island republic. Request Inspection Copy

These volumes comprise of essays by Singapore thought-leaders republished from various issues of the annual journal of the National University of Singapore Society called Commentary.

This Reader collects in one volume the key readings on language, ethnicity and race. Using linguistic and cultural analysis, it explores changing ideas of race and the ways in which these ideas shape human communication.