The Politics of Landscapes in Singapore: Constructions of "Nation"

Space, Place and Society

by Lily Kong, Brenda S.A. Yeoh

This thought-provoking book explores strategies employed by Singapore, a multiracial society, to create a Singapore "nation" with an emphasis on the role of landscape. As such, the authors cast keen eye on religious buildings, public housing, heritage landscapes, and street name changes as tangible methods of nation-building in a postcolonial society. The authors illustrate how "nation" and "national identity" are concepts that are negotiated and disputed by varied social, economic, and political groups—some of which may actively resist powerfuI state-centrist attitudes. Throughout this work, the role of the landscape prevails both as a way to naturalize state ideologies and as a means of providing possibilities for reinterpretation in everyday life.

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Lily Kong’s short stories and other writings have been published in magazines and newspapers. She won the NUS Literary Society Writing Contest for an English short story in 1985 and the National Arts Council’s Beyond Words Chinese Picture Book Writing Contest in 2013. She majored in English Literature and Economics at the National University of Singapore and holds teaching diplomas in English as a Second Language, Speech and Drama, Public Speaking and Early Childhood Education. She is effectively bilingual.

Reviews

[Tito Quiling, Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The spatial analyses on Singapore's dead, living, and shared spaces are interesting in how it melds into each other, in crafting a modern Singaporean identity and concept of nation. I enjoyed the chapters on burial sites in comparison to the HDBs that stand parallel to one another as tight spaces. As an idea that is constructed by its leaders, the dearth of living spaces and allocating their traditions within a fast-paced society is a tricky condition. Not to mention the clashing of cultures as one tries to offer public housing that inadvertently demarcates social class. This was an insightful work.

[Rex Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great textbook to learn about geography although information & data being outdated due to it being published way back in 2002.