{"product_id":"reimagining-singapore-s-history","title":"Reimagining Singapore’s History: Essays on Pre-Colonial Roots and Modern Identity","description":"\u003cul class=\"tabs\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"active\"\u003eDescription\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"tabs-content\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"active\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat is history? How is it made? And why does it matter? \u003cem\u003eReimagining Singapore’s History\u003c\/em\u003e brings together leading historians to discuss these questions within the context of the decades-long project to rediscover pre-colonial Singapore.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2019 was a milestone in Singapore’s history as it marked the 200th anniversary of Stamford Raffles’ landing in 1819. However, in a powerful turn of events, government-sponsored celebrations used the occasion to highlight Singapore’s longer pre-colonial story, in the process officially pushing back the modern country’s origins to the 14th-century trading post of Temasek.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContrary to popular belief, Singapore was not a forgotten land between Temasek and Raffles; it remained a rich crossroads of trade, culture, religion, and merchant empires (both Asian and European). The discovery of this pre-1819 period has led to Singapore’s ‘new history’, also known as its ‘700-year narrative’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile this narrative has long been common knowledge among academics, it was only in the past decade that it began to make its way into the public consciousness. Why and how did these changes come about? Where did they come from? Why did it take so long to bridge academic and public knowledge? And what is pre-colonial Singapore’s relevance for us in the 21st century?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSurveying topics from archaeology to post-colonial theory, this essay collection explores the above questions and introduces the sources, discoveries, and ideas that led to the literal re-writing of Singapore’s official historical narratives over the past decades.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContributors include renowned National University of Singapore professors and public historians:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProfessor Wang Gungwu – recognized as ‘one of Asia’s most important public intellectuals’.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProfessor Peter Borschberg – pioneer of using non-English European archives to study pre-colonial Singapore.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProfessor Kwa Chong Guan – leading proponent of the long-cycles, 700-year approach to Singapore’s history.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProfessor Syed Farid Alatas – sociologist and among Singapore’s top postcolonial theorists.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChris Hale – documentary filmmaker and non-fiction writer, author of \u003cem\u003eA Brief History of Singapore and Malaysia\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTim Hannigan – travel writer and author of numerous books on Southeast Asia, including \u003cem\u003eRaffles and the British Invasion of Java\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMatthew Oey\u003c\/strong\u003e is an Associate Editor at Tuttle Publishing, part of Periplus Publishing Group. Previously, he was a Research Assistant at Columbia’s Graduate School of International and Public Affairs, where he worked with Professor Stuart Gottlieb and U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien. Matthew was the lead organizer of the ‘Reimagining Southeast Asian History’ conference at the Asian Civilisations Museum, held on August 23, 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History summa cum laude from Columbia University and is a Juris Doctor candidate at Harvard Law School.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Times Distribution","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50769317658921,"sku":"9789815323757","price":26.9,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0041\/files\/9789815323757.jpg?v=1754776773","url":"https:\/\/epigrambookshop.xyz\/products\/reimagining-singapore-s-history","provider":"Epigram","version":"1.0","type":"link"}