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Papers by boonhui tan
Journal of Historical Geography, Jan 1, 1995
In order to elaborate on the view that space is a heavily contested domain of social life, we exa... more In order to elaborate on the view that space is a heavily contested domain of social life, we examine two closely juxtaposed discourses on Chinese burial grounds in postwar Singapore. State-constructed discourse not only highlighted the insanitary nature of burial grounds, but adopted a utilitarian view of burial space. In the context of the need to reconstruct a war-tom country in the 1950s and later the pressing demands of nation-building in the 196Os, the "problem" of Chinese burial grounds was constructed as the need to release "sterilized" land for "development" within planning discourse. In contrast, the Chinese community under colonial rule advanced the view that their burial grounds were "sacred" spaces situated within the discourse of geomancy and ancestor worship and as such "immune" from state intervention. With independence, the status of the Chinese as a citizen in a nation-state with accompanying obligations made it more difficult for the community to maintain a separate distinctly Chinese discourse on burial space. Consequently, new discourses which stressed the rights of the Chinese as citizens emerged as instruments of negotiation. Our aim is to show that both discourses were embedded in a field of power relations: both are strategic, set up in opposition to each other, and drew on the existing power relations between the state and the people. Discourses also changed with the broader context, in tandem with shifting power relations engendered by the transition from colony to nation-state.
Journal of Asian Business, Jan 1, 2000
Аннотация The impact of foreign direct investment varies according to the propensity of foreign i... more Аннотация The impact of foreign direct investment varies according to the propensity of foreign investors to form linkages with indigenous suppliers. Recent assessments suggest that there has been a shift toward greater localization of supply and from competitive to ...
Human Ecology Review, Jan 1, 2002
This paper examines the changing constitution of Chinese landscapes of death in post-war Singapor... more This paper examines the changing constitution of Chinese landscapes of death in post-war Singapore through a close reading of the process of conflict and negotiation between the nation-state and the Chinese community. Using the spatial politics surrounding Chinese burial grounds as a lens, we clarify state strategies of control over land use and explain how they shifted from colonial to the postcolonial era. We also examine how the strategies of resistance and negotiation on the part of the Chinese community to continue to lay claim to their burial spaces. We then explore state rationale behind, and the community's response to, the shift from burial to cremation. In general, the birth of a new nation-state put in place stronger urban planning mechanisms for disciplining the landscape, and at the same time, narrowing the degrees of freedom within which the Chinese community was able to manoeuvre.
Environment and Planning A, Jan 1, 1998
Books by boonhui tan
The Progressive Revolution: Modern Art for a New India, 2019
Looking at examples from India, Indonesia, Singapore and China, this essay examines how art and a... more Looking at examples from India, Indonesia, Singapore and China, this essay examines how art and artistic practices at the moment of political independence often reflect the ideological struggles within the new nation-states. The adoption of specific visual styles at particular historical moments often reflect a stance in the ideological debates of the time.
Journal of Historical Geography, Jan 1, 1995
In order to elaborate on the view that space is a heavily contested domain of social life, we exa... more In order to elaborate on the view that space is a heavily contested domain of social life, we examine two closely juxtaposed discourses on Chinese burial grounds in postwar Singapore. State-constructed discourse not only highlighted the insanitary nature of burial grounds, but adopted a utilitarian view of burial space. In the context of the need to reconstruct a war-tom country in the 1950s and later the pressing demands of nation-building in the 196Os, the "problem" of Chinese burial grounds was constructed as the need to release "sterilized" land for "development" within planning discourse. In contrast, the Chinese community under colonial rule advanced the view that their burial grounds were "sacred" spaces situated within the discourse of geomancy and ancestor worship and as such "immune" from state intervention. With independence, the status of the Chinese as a citizen in a nation-state with accompanying obligations made it more difficult for the community to maintain a separate distinctly Chinese discourse on burial space. Consequently, new discourses which stressed the rights of the Chinese as citizens emerged as instruments of negotiation. Our aim is to show that both discourses were embedded in a field of power relations: both are strategic, set up in opposition to each other, and drew on the existing power relations between the state and the people. Discourses also changed with the broader context, in tandem with shifting power relations engendered by the transition from colony to nation-state.
Journal of Asian Business, Jan 1, 2000
Аннотация The impact of foreign direct investment varies according to the propensity of foreign i... more Аннотация The impact of foreign direct investment varies according to the propensity of foreign investors to form linkages with indigenous suppliers. Recent assessments suggest that there has been a shift toward greater localization of supply and from competitive to ...
Human Ecology Review, Jan 1, 2002
This paper examines the changing constitution of Chinese landscapes of death in post-war Singapor... more This paper examines the changing constitution of Chinese landscapes of death in post-war Singapore through a close reading of the process of conflict and negotiation between the nation-state and the Chinese community. Using the spatial politics surrounding Chinese burial grounds as a lens, we clarify state strategies of control over land use and explain how they shifted from colonial to the postcolonial era. We also examine how the strategies of resistance and negotiation on the part of the Chinese community to continue to lay claim to their burial spaces. We then explore state rationale behind, and the community's response to, the shift from burial to cremation. In general, the birth of a new nation-state put in place stronger urban planning mechanisms for disciplining the landscape, and at the same time, narrowing the degrees of freedom within which the Chinese community was able to manoeuvre.
Environment and Planning A, Jan 1, 1998
The Progressive Revolution: Modern Art for a New India, 2019
Looking at examples from India, Indonesia, Singapore and China, this essay examines how art and a... more Looking at examples from India, Indonesia, Singapore and China, this essay examines how art and artistic practices at the moment of political independence often reflect the ideological struggles within the new nation-states. The adoption of specific visual styles at particular historical moments often reflect a stance in the ideological debates of the time.