The NUS History Alumni Association is hosting (for the first time) a Mad Hatters Party at the new NUS Alumni House next Friday. Details are… »
Impressions | Conversations
Shedding Some Light: Time and Tide
Story and pictures by Kevin Lee This story was first published at the MyStory portal, an initiative by the Public Education Division of the National Heritage Board. I allowed Sang Nila Utama safe passage to Singapore after he yielded his crown as tribute. At that time, the island was called “Temasikâ€, but he renamed it… »
The Photography of Yip Cheong Fun
by Zhou Zhong Yip Cheong Fun (å¶ç•…芬, 1903-1989) was a distinguished and influential Singaporean documentary photographer. Renowned internationally for his seascapes, Yip also recorded through his photographs the many different facets of Singapore life with his keen eye and humanistic understanding of his surroundings. His sensitivity to change also helped document the cultural landscape in… »
David Marshall: His Thoughts and Convictions
by Kevin Khoo This year marks the hundredth anniversary of the birth of David Marshall (1908–1995), the celebrated Singapore nationalist, politician, lawyer and diplomat. Born on 12 March 1908 into a Sephardic Jew family, Marshall rose to prominence in the late 1940s as a brilliant young criminal lawyer whose extraordinary legal acumen and oratorical skill… »
Mental Health in Singapore: Into the Twentieth Century
by Tan Mei Yan Continuing The First Hospital for the Mentally Ill The Grand Jury made their last Presentment on 18 October 1865, and was abolished by Ordinace VI on 1873 passed on 9 September 1873 (Lee 1978, 204). At that point of time, doctors had both clinical and administrative duties to fulfil (Ng 2001,… »
Mental Health in Singapore: The First Hospital for the Mentally Ill (1841-1928)
by Tan Mei Yan Continuing The Early Years (1819-1840) Completed in 1841, the Insane Hospital was situated at the corner of Bras Basah Road and Bencoolen Street (Ng 2001, 9; IMH 2003, 16). In spite of the unfortunate death that occurred, due regard was still not given to mental health care. Conditions at the Hospital were… »
Mental Health in Singapore: The Early Years (1819-1840)
by Tan Mei Yan Mental health in Singapore has its roots in the West. The first medical personnel in the field were mostly from Britain. Medical education in the early years was almost exclusively for the British, until the establishment of King Edward VII College of Medicine on the island in 1907. Hence, many ideas… »
Tibet’s Recent Histories
by Ang Cher Kiat From fiery exchanges on internet forums to commentaries in international dailies on the outburst of pro-Tibet protests around the world, most often than not, the word “history†is thrown around putatively from both side.[i] A notable example came from a recent Jakarta Post editorial stating that “any student of history cannot… »
The POSB Students’ Savings Scheme: A Largely Forgotten Childhood Experience
by Sim I Lin Melissa During a Chinese New Year gathering, a conversation between my mother and her friends somehow shifted to how various Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) branches were silently being renovated into Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) outlets instead. They agreed that this was a “smart move that will not cause a… »
“Gold and Silver, branded horses and well-tilled land”: Gender and Hadrami Migration
by Ismail Fajrie Alatas Hadramaut is a region in South Arabia along the Gulf of Aden, extending eastward from Yemen proper to the region of Dhofar in Oman. The inhabitants of this land, the Hadramis had long traversed the Indian Ocean, along the ancient trade route connecting the Middle East to the “lands below the… »
A Preliminary Sketch on Time, Logic and the practice of History
by Ismail Fajrie Alatas The concept of time constantly astounds me as a student. In addition, my training as a historian, the so-called guardian of the past, also deals directly with the notion of time. In this short paper, I will present some preliminary sketches in regards to the epistemology of time and its connection… »