We are thrilled to have Engseng Ho, Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University and the Muhammad Alagil Distinguished Visiting Professor of Arabia Asia Studies at National University of Singapore, as this year’s SEACoast Muse/Mentor. Professor Ho will give a talk on Wednesday, Feb 23, 12:15-1:30pm, PST.
Dubai and Singapore: Asian Diasporics, Global Logistics, Company Rule
Dubai and Singapore are emblematic of the contemporary global moment, embodying dizzying success, frenetic excess, spectacular crash. Are they global cities or port-states? Are they Asian nations or corporations descended from the East India Companies that became colonial governments? Their iconic status today as global cities is not simply a function of globalization, but can be understood in terms of dynamic currents that shape and reshape places in the Indian Ocean, the original Asian venue of an international economy. Dubai and Singapore are two tiny places that have seen success because they have understood those currents, and acted in accordance with changes in their dynamics. What are these dynamics – their constants over the long term, and their recent shifts?
This event is co-sponsored by the UCSC Center for Cultural Studies. Please use this link to RSVP or visit the Cultural Studies website for more information. We hope you will join us!