Asia Research Institute, NUS

31/07/2026

Congratulations to our colleague Jonathan Galka on receiving an Honorable Mention from the Jacqueline Carpine-Lancre Early Career Scholars Prize in Ocean History for his 2025 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 article, “The nodules are alive and well on the sea floor”: Deep Ocean Minerals, Invertebrate Traces, and Multispecies Histories of Abyssal Environments", written during his time as a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Science, Technology and Society (STS) Research Cluster at ARI.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40656-025-00668-4

https://www.kth.se/anthropocenehistory/news/jonathan-galka-recieves-honorable-mention-for-jacqueline-carpine-lancre-prize-in-ocean-history-1.1478349

For mid-twentieth century scientists, industrialists, politicians, and lawyers, manganese (polymetallic) nodules were singular and valuable condensations of complex and little-understood biogeochemical processes. This paper examines how those processes were made tractable objects of interdisciplinar...

30/07/2026

Conventional understandings of urbanisation emphasise population movement, overlooking the fundamental roles that space and time play in shaping urban change, writes Bosman Batubara in this month's article on ARIscope.

Temporal urbanism: Tools of/for “cities as sites and techniques of futuring.
”

Conventional understandings of urbanisation emphasise population movement, overlooking the fundamental roles that space and time play in shaping urban change.

29/07/2026

𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 | From Apathy to Agency: Building Belonging Through Participation

What does it take to turn concern for the environment into meaningful action?

Join us on 18 August for a seminar by Bingyu Cai who will share the work of the Ground Up Initiative (GUI) and how it encourages people to reconnect with their communities and the environment through hands-on participation.

Drawing on nearly 20 years of community-building experience, Bingyu will discuss projects that bring people together to transform waste into useful materials, grow food, create shared spaces, and build a stronger sense of belonging. The session explores how small, collective actions can help people move from being consumers of a city to active participants in shaping it.

📅 18 August 2026 (Tuesday)
🕓 4:00–5:30 PM (SGT)
📍 Hybrid: Zoom & AS8 04-04, National University of Singapore

Admission is free. Register to attend in person or online. Details will be sent to registered participants three days before the event.

CHAIRPERSON Assoc Prof Jamie S. Davidson, Asia Research Institute, and Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore ABSTRACT Ground-Up Initiative (GUI) was founded on a simple observation: most people do not intentionally harm the environment—they are simply disconnected from ...

29/07/2026

How do migration, kinship, and motherhood intersect across borders? This book discussion on 𝘊𝘰𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘴: 𝘔𝘪𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘨 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 by Dr Bittiandra Chand Somaiah, Lecturer at NUS College, National University of Singapore, explores these questions through the lived experiences of first-generation Kodavathee im/migrant women across India, Singapore, and Sydney.

Drawing on themes of migration, gender, transnational families, and social change, the discussion will feature commentaries by Prof Vineeta Sinha, Asst Prof Bhoomika Joshi, and Dr Shivani Gupta National University of Singapore, followed by a Q&A session.

📅 12 August 2026
🕒 3:00–4:30 PM
📍 AS8, Level 4, Seminar Room 04-04
National University of Singapore @ Kent Ridge Campus

The event is free and open to all. Registration is required.

CHAIRPERSON Dr Exequiel Camarig Cabanda, Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore PROGRAMME 15:00 WELCOME REMARKS Dr Exequiel Camarig Cabanda | National University of Singapore 15:05 BOOK SUMMARY BY AUTHOR Dr Bittiandra Chand Somaiah | N...

28/07/2026

We're Hiring! Join the Asia Research Institute (ARI) at National University of Singapore

ARI is recruiting for two exciting full-time roles on a major SSRC-funded research project exploring ageing, migration, and the resource environments of foreign-born older adults in Singapore:

🔹 Postdoctoral/Research Fellow (PhD required)
📅 Apply by 14 August 2026
🔹 Research Assistant (Bachelor's degree or above)
📅 Apply by 31 July 2026

We're looking for candidates with strong qualitative research skills, an interest in ageing and migration, and a passion for interdisciplinary, policy-relevant research.

Learn more and apply:

• Postdoctoral/Research Fellow: https://careers.nus.edu.sg/job/POSTDOCTORALRESEARCH-FELLOWSHIP-AT-THE-ASIA-RESEARCH-INSTITUTE-%28AGEING-AND-MIGRATION%29/33777-en_GB/

• Research Assistant: https://careers.nus.edu.sg/job/RESEARCH-ASSISTANT-IN-ASIA-RESEARCH-INSTITUTE-%28AGEING-AND-MIGRATION%29/33776-en_GB/

Please share with anyone who may be interested!

28/07/2026

TRANSNATIONAL FAMILIES AND FUTURE-MAKING IN LOOMING CRISES

📅 4 August 2026
🕓 4:00–5:30 PM
📍 AS8 Seminar Room 04-04, Level 4
National University of Singapore @ Kent Ridge Campus

How do families navigate uncertainty in an era of pandemics, conflict, climate change, and other overlapping global crises?

Chairperson
Dr Bittiandra Chand Somaiah, NUS College, National University of Singapore

Join this roundtable with speakers:
• Prof Helle Rydstrom (Lund University)
• Prof Simon Turner (Lund University)
• Dr Erica M. Larson (National University of Singapore)
• Prof Brenda S.A. Yeoh (National University of Singapore)

Drawing on case studies from Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, Vietnam, and Burundi, the discussion explores how transnational families shape futures across borders through care, mobility, citizenship, and kinship.

💬 Roundtable discussion + Audience Q&A

🎟️ Free admission. Registration required.

CHAIRPERSON Dr Bittiandra Chand Somaiah, NUS College, National University of Singapore PROGRAMME 16:00 WELCOME REMARKS Dr Bittiandra Chand Somaiah | National University of Singapore 16:05 PRESENTATION 1 Classed Futures: Low-burning Economic Crisis and Family Mobilities in Industrializing Vietnam Pro...

27/07/2026

Public Lecture | The Arts of Rubble

Join us for "The Arts of Rubble: Fragments of Concrete, Fragmenting Environments, and Fragmentary Politics in Thai Art" by Eli Elinoff, Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

📅 20 August 2026 (Thu)
🕓 4:15–5:30 PM
📍 Level 5, Glass Room, Supreme Court Wing, National Gallery Singapore

How are concrete, contemporary Thai art, politics, and environmental change connected? In this thought-provoking lecture, Eli Elinoff explores how Thai artists use concrete to examine urban transformation, political upheaval, and the ecological challenges of the Anthropocene.

🎟️ Admission is free (registration required). Register here: https://ari.nus.edu.sg/events/20260820-arts-of-rubble/

This lecture is jointly organised with the National Gallery Singapore and held in conjunction with the workshop "Dis/assembling Concrete’s Environments."

This lecture is jointly organised with the National Gallery Singapore, and held in conjunction with the workshop on “Dis/assembling Concrete’s Environments”. CHAIRPERSON Dr Patrick Flores, Chief Curator, National Gallery Singapore ABSTRACT In the past fifteen years, concrete and its constituen...

14/07/2026

MUHAMMAD ALAGIL ARABIA ASIA STUDIES LECTURE

The Voyage of the “Crooked”: A Global Microhistory

Speaker: Fahad Ahmad Bishara (University of Virginia & Doha Institute for Graduate Studies معهد الدوحة للدراسات العليا)

🗓️ 6 August 2026 | 🕖 7.00–8.30pm
📍 Ngee Ann Auditorium, ACM (Asian Civilisations Museum)

Discover how the 1924 voyage of a Kuwaiti dhow reveals the interconnected worlds of the Gulf and the Indian Ocean through trade, ideas, and maritime history.

Held in conjunction with the workshop 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘖𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘯: 𝘛𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘌𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴.

Chaired by Sumit K Mandal, Muhammad Alagil Chair in Arabia Asia Studies Asia Research Institute, NUS

Admission is free. Register now:

This lecture is organised by the Muhammad Alagil Distinguished Professorship in Arabia Asia Studies at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. It is held in conjunction with the workshop on “Remapping Manuscripts in the Indian Ocean: Textual Cultures, Knowledge Practices, an...

10/07/2026

New open access research by Sojin Yu from The University of Sheffield and Feinian Chen, Johns Hopkins University, examines how power dynamics between co-residing mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law in patrilocal families in the Global South have changed over time, showing that while daughters-in-law's education and work increasingly weaken traditional hierarchies, men's migration does not, resulting in a gradual and uneven shift towards egalitarianism.

This paper examines the intergenerational power dynamics between co-residing mothers-in-law (MILs) and daughters-in-law (DILs) in patrilocal families and investigates how these dynamics have evolve...

09/07/2026

How can manuscripts reshape the way we understand history, knowledge, and the Indian Ocean world?

Join us on 6–7 August 2026 for this hybrid conference organized by the Muhammad Alagil Distinguished Professorship in Arabia Asia Studies at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

Focusing on manuscripts produced or circulated in the Islamic Indian Ocean, the conference revisits textual cultures, knowledge practices, and the social lives of texts by highlighting neglected and indigenous sources and reflecting on the larger epistemological perspectives they offer.

Held in conjunction with the launch of the Alagil Arabia Asia Archives, the conference explores how manuscript traditions can broaden our understanding of history, culture, and knowledge production across Asia.

The conference programme and abstracts are now available.

Conference Conveners
• Dr P. K. M. Abdul Jaleel, Asia Research Institute, NUS
• Dr Sumit Mandal, Asia Research Institute, NUS

📅 6–7 August 2026
📍 Hybrid: Online via Zoom & AS8 04-04, National University of Singapore

Admission is free. Register now to join us.

This conference is organized by the Muhammad Alagil Distinguished Professorship in Arabia Asia Studies at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. With a focus on manuscripts produced or circulated in the Islamic Indian Ocean, this conference revisits the cultures, knowledge pr...