Has the era of globalization neutralized the institution of “nation”? This thought-provoking book focuses on attempts to build “nation” through landscape. Specifically, it explores strategies employed by Singapore, a multiracial society, to create a Singapore “nation” with an emphasis on the role of landscapes. As such, the authors cast a keen eye on religious buildings, public housing, heritage landscapes, and street name changes as tangible methods of nation-building in a postcolonial society.
Pointing out the perceptions of “identity” and “nation” are social constructs rooted in history, the authors illustrate how “nation” and “national identity” are negotiated and disputed by varied social, economic, and political groups – some of which may actively resist powerful state-centrist attitudes. The book illuminates the prevailing role of the landscape, both as a way of naturalizing state ideologies and as a means of providing possibilities for reinterpretation in everyday life.
Insightful and informative, this is a crucial reference for geographers as well as scholars of international political economy, postcolonial and cultural studies, and Asian history.
