Let’s Talk About Queenstown

Description

“Let’s Talk About Queenstown” is a seminar series organised by My Community where residents and participants learn about the satellite estate’s multifaceted history and personality through workshops and talks by professionals and experts. Join us for one of our talks to pick up something new!

Upcoming Event/s:

Social Memories & Contested Landscapes in HDB Communities

Created with Sketch.
Date
Sunday, 20 September 2020
Time
Approximate Duration: 1.5 hours (2pm to 3.30pm)
language
English
ic_startendCreated with Sketch.
Venue
Venue: Zoom (A webinar link will be sent to participants one day before the event)

Following the destructive Bukit Ho Swee fire of 1961, the Housing Development Board worked to resettle victims into modern public housing blocks. This initiative has been branded in textbooks as a sterling example of effective policy making. However, sentiment and interpretations differ on the ground. For instance, residents reported feeling a distinct sense of loss and disorientation after moving into the new high-rises.

This is an example of a historical form of contestation within a local community.

Contestations continue to take place in everyday settings today. Take for instance a market or hawker centre in a mature estate. Some residents might view it as ordinary and uninspiring while other segments of the community might regard them as sacred communal spaces, having had invested time, meaning and memories in the place.

Deep dive into this topic with Dr Hamzah Muzaini who will delve into these examples and share more about the contested memoryscapes in Singapore’s HDB communities.

About the speaker
Dr Hamzah Muzaini is a cultural geographer at the Department of Southeast Asian Studies, NUS. His work explores the politics of remembering and forgetting particularly as this intersects with issues of heritage, landscape and postcoloniality. He is co-author of Contested Memoryscapes: the Politics of Second World War Commemoration in Singapore (2016, Routledge, with Brenda Yeoh) and co-editor of After Heritage: Critical Issues of Heritage from Below (2018, Edward Elgar, with Claudio Minca).

About Let’s Talk About Queenstown
“Let’s Talk About Queenstown” is a seminar series organised by My Community where residents and participants can get to know about the different aspects of Queenstown through professionals and experts. The series take place on every 3rd Sunday of the month.

Past Event/s:

Street Names in Queenstown and Singapore with Dr. Victor R. Savage

19 January 2020

We were honoured to have had the opportunity to hear from renowned geographer Dr. Victor R. Savage, who took his time to explain to us in-depth the significance, history and objectives of street naming in Queenstown and Singapore. It was an insightful talk that encouraged the audience to consider implications of street names as well as the process of naming.

Racism in HDB Communities with Prof Daniel Goh

17 November 2019

In November 2019, Assoc Prof Daniel PS Goh from the NUS Sociology department shared with us about the prevalence of racism across HDB communities in Singapore. Thereafter, he helmed a discussion on how racism transpires in everyday, heartland conversations and constructs, what constitutes racism and how such incidents can be more actively avoided.

Homelessness in Queenstown with Dr. Ng Kok Hoe

15 September 2019

Dr. Ng Kok Hoe from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) spoke to us about the issue of homelessness in Queenstown and Singapore. We learned a lot from Dr. Ng’s depth of knowledge regarding this often-neglected issue, and it has spurred us to think more critically about the world we live in.

Other Programmes