NUS History Department

Teaching and Research Excellence | Journal of Southeast Asian Studies editors | NUS Singapore History Prize administrators | get updates on news and events here

[NUS History Department @NUSHistory]

Congratulations to Donna Brunero for winning the Faculty Teaching Excellence Award in AY2025-26!

[NUS History Department @NUSHistory]

Grad student Qiu Weitong uncovered Tan Yun-shan's correspondence in India, offering rare insights into Sino-Indian exchanges and Buddhist networks. On Aug 21, these findings were presented at an ARI-co-hosted conference on Kolkata's Chinese community source materials.

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On 7 September, Maurizio Peleggi gave a keynote speech at the first JEDI + SPAFA conference in Chiangmai at the invitation of the Faculty of Architecture of Chiangmai University and of the SEAMEO-SPAFA regional centre, Bangkok.

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Seng Guo Quan was appointed to the Singapore Chinese Heritage Gallery's Advisory Panel, announced by PM Lawrence Wong at NDR 2026. Set to open in 2031, SCHG is run by SCCC and supported by NHB. The panel held its first meeting on Sep 10, 2026.

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On Sep 26, NUS grad student Sheryl Lynne Tan presented on Yee I-Lann’s photomedia work at LASALLE's Asian Art Histories Conference. The talk explored Malaysian identity, exhibition contexts & comparisons with artists Simryn Gill, Victor Leong & Manit Sriwanichpoom.

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NUS History PhD student Faith Cooper spoke at Fashion & Market Forum 2026, organised by alumna Dr Nadya Wang. The event united museum curators and fashion practitioners across Southeast Asia to explore shaping the future of the region's fashion discourse.

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On Aug 26, Bryan Goh led a heritage tour at St. Mary of the Angels for 120 children from Catholic Preschool Education. The tour translated Franciscan history into accessible public history, hoping to spark historical curiosity in these six-year-olds for the future!

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On Sep 11, Timothy Barnard gave a seminar, “Plants and Singaporean History,” at NTU to a crowded room of sociologists and historians. The talk explored approaches to studying Singaporean society and how scholars can enrich their perspectives on our nation-state.

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Priya Jaradi's blended learning course '700 Years of Visual Arts' launched on Aug 14 at Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium. 150 guests joined the launch. Thanks to speakers Ms Chang Hwee Nee (CEO, NHB), Prof Melvin Yap (VP, TEE) & TK Sabapathy (NUS) for their invaluable addresses!

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Seng Guo Quan’s article, “Nanyang popular culture on Singapore television (1963–1979),” was published in Inter-Asia Cultural Studies as part of the special issue “Popular Nanyang,” edited by Xu Lanjun and Chan Cheow Thia. He was also co-PI of the related MOE Tier-2 project.

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Jack Chia’s article, “When Small States Practice Buddhist Diplomacy,” was published in The Diplomat:
https://t.co/iAAwN5Y6CF

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Congratulations to Florin-Stefan Morar who has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS). The RHS is the UK's foremost professional body for historians, and he looks forward to contributing to its work and engaging with fellow historians in the years ahead.

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On 30 July, Matthew Reeder visited Naresuan University, Thailand, to give a lecture about my forthcoming book. The lecture was titled, "Categorical Kingdom: The Emergence of Ethnic Imaginaries in Early Modern Siam."

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The Department kicked off the series with a book talk by our alumnus, Dr. Edgar Liao on 19 August. His book, Disciplined democracy: Youth and the making of modern Singapore, 1940s-1970, will be published by the University of Hawaii Press in early 2027.

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Masako Hattori's first book, The Age of Youth: American Society and the Two World Wars (Cambridge University Press, 2025), has recently been awarded the Shimizu Hiroshi Book Award (the first book award) from the Japanese Association for American Studies (JAAS).

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Li Na visited HAPP of Queen’s University Belfast from 20 April to 1 May 2026 as a Global Fellow. She explored China-related archives, discussed possible research collaborations, and gave a talk on Asian Public History at Queen’s Centre for Public History.

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On 20 May, Seng Guo Quan gave the presentation, "Hong Kong and the cross-border barter trade in Southeast Asia during the Cold War" at the "‘Cold War in Hong Kong, Asia, and Beyond’ workshop, organized by Hong Kong Research Hub (Nanyang Technological University).

[NUS History Department @NUSHistory]

Kung ChienWen joined The Future of Sinophone Taiwan conference at UC Santa Barbara on 22–23 May,presenting research on how Taiwanese intellectual emigrants contributed to debates about Mandarin in Singapore before and during the Speak Mandarin Campaign,amid UCSB’s coastal scenery

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During Singapore Navy Day celebrations, Donna Brunero spent two afternoons at the Singapore Navy Museum on 1 and 2 May, moderating a panel on women at sea with Judy Kong and Jerica Goh. Goh, Singapore’s first female frigate commander.

[NUS History Department @NUSHistory]

Gregory Clancey's Project "The History and Sustainability of Animal-Based Drugs in Asian Traditional Medicines" was completed in December. The details are accessible through this link: https://t.co/R6VYerCcwZ.