Asia Research Institute, NUS

Concrete is great to think with! As concrete is a ubiquitous construction material that saturates our environments and permeates our social lives across its lifecycle, it is deeply entangled with many of our past, present, and future problems and promises. That's my main takeaway from the 21 presentations on various sites and processes of concrete (alternatives) and (de)concretisation in South, East, and Southeast Asia by an interdisciplinary group of scholars (including anthropologists, architects, architectural historians, engineers, geographers, historians, and heritage consultants) at the "Dis/assembling Concrete's Environments" workshop co-convened by Justin Lau, Saptarshi Sanyal, and myself last week. Thank you to all the presenters and panel chairs! We are hoping to cement and bind the granular contributions of the individual papers into a more concrete contribution to the material histories, cultures and politics of concrete in a special journal issue. Our gratitude also goes out to the @nationalgallerysingapore for co-hosting the first day of the workshop at its visually-porous and light-infused Glass Room, and to the superb Events Team at the Asia Research Institute, NUS. Valerie Yeo took most of the photos I share here. Participants include (in the presentation order): Meenakshi A, Paul Christensen, Sarah Nichols, Eunjeong Kim, Anita Halim Lim, Penglin Zhu, Eli Elinoff, Anisha Drall, Megnaa Mehtta, Vanshika Singh, Gauri Bharat, Parul Kiri Roy, Josh Comaroff, and Zengxin Wen.

A new article by researchers in ARI's Migration and Mobilities Cluster contributes to research on circular migration and migrant work by showing that circular reuse and recycling in households are not just about environmental behaviour—they are also shaped by migrant workers’ working conditions and wider inequalities between countries.

Yeoh, B. S. A., Tan, Q. H., & Rahadini, I. A. (2026). From “Caring for the home” to “Caring for the environment”: Migrant Domestic Workers and Circular Household Waste Management in Singapore. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2026.2708864

https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2026.2708864

From “Caring for the home” to “Caring for the environment”: Migrant Domestic Workers and Circular Household Waste Management in Singapore This article advances a relational feminist approach to better understand the roles that migrant domestic workers play in their everyday handling of household waste in Singapore. Despite emerging s...

𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 | Towards a Critical Anthropology of Chineseness: Refracting and Multiplying Chinese Alterity in Chile

What does “Chineseness” mean in Chile, where being “Chilean Chinese” remains largely unintelligible to most Chileans?

Join us on 15 September for a seminar by Carol Chan, Associate Professor at Universidad Diego Portales who will draw on ethnographic research to explore how Chileans of Chinese descent identify with “Chineseness” and how it is shaped by racial value, power and stigma.

📅 15 September 2026 (Tuesday)
🕞 3:30–5:00 PM (SGT)
📍 Hybrid: Zoom & AS8 04-04, National University of Singapore

Admission is free. Register to attend in person or online:

Towards a Critical Anthropology of Chineseness: Refracting and Multiplying Chinese Alterity in Chile | Carol Chan » Asia Research Institute, NUS CHAIRPERSON Prof Elaine Ho, Asia Research Institute, and Department of Geography, National University of Singapore ABSTRACT Despite the long history of Chinese migration to Chile from the 19th century, the term “Chilean Chinese” is largely unintelligible to most Chileans in suggesting a socially...

We are excited to have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with 현대차 정몽구 재단 Hyundai Chung Mong Koo Foundation and the foundation's CMK School of ASEAN Studies (CMK ASEAN School), as part of a multilateral agreement among ten universities, research institutes, and international organisations in five Asian countries.

The agreement marks a shared commitment to empower next-generation leaders and to advance cooperation among education institutions across Korea and the ASEAN region.

Hyundai Chung Mong Koo Foundation Builds Global Cooperation Network to Foster Future Leaders in Korea and ASEAN - MK Hyundai Chung Mong Koo Foundation has built a global cooperation network with 10 universities, research institutes, and international organizations in five Asian countries, including the National Univ..

We’re pleased to announce that the new website for Capitals of the Future is now live:

👉 https://capitalsofthefuture.org/

The project seeks to understand the interaction between imaginations of the future, discourses of urban planning and pathways of urban development.

We’re grateful to have received support through the Ministry of Education, Singapore Academic Research Fund Tier 2 (MOE-T2EP40222-0001), which has made this research possible.

Project team

PI & Co-PI: Daniel Goh PS & Tim Bunnell
Collaborators: Lee Kah-Wee, Nick Smith, Bosman Batubara & Galuh Indraprahasta
ARI Team: Priza Marendraputra & How Zhan Jie

Visit the website to find out more about the project, our research, the team and our work across Southeast Asia.

https://capitalsofthefuture.org/

Capitals of the Future Imagining Future Cities: Singapore, Putrajaya, and Nusantara as Gateways to Urban Innovation

We’re proud to share that our colleague Dr Theodora Lam was awarded a Commendation Medal (Pingat Kepujian) from the Prime Minister’s Office at the 2026 National Awards, acknowledging her performance and contribution to the National University of Singapore over the past two decades.

Congratulations on everything you’ve achieved Theodora and thank you for being a wonderful colleague!

https://ari.nus.edu.sg/news/dr-theodora-lam-receives-commendation-medal-at-national-awards-2026/

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 │ Dis/assembling Concrete’s Environments 📅 20–21 August 2026

What can concrete tell us about Asia’s environments, societies, and futures?

This two-day workshop employs the notion of ‘concrete dis/assemblages’ to explore the interrelated but discrepant socio-temporal dimensions and ecologies of concrete. It calls attention to how diverse and partially connected sites of concrete production, circulation, and disposal assemble and disassemble variegated environments. In doing so, the workshop seeks to provincialize the Anthropocene by highlighting the multifold processes of (un)making concrete in Asia.

📍 20 Aug: National Gallery Singapore (In-person), The Glassroom, Level 5, Supreme Court Wing
📍 21 Aug: National University of Singapore, (In-person & Online) AS8, Level 4, Seminar Room 04-04
🎟️ Free admission

Organised by Asia Research Institute, NUS, with venue support from National Gallery Singapore.

Programme:https://ari.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Program-Concrete.pdf

Register: https://ari.nus.edu.sg/events/concrete/

Dis/assembling Concrete’s Environments » Asia Research Institute, NUS This workshop is organised by the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore, with venue support from the National Gallery Singapore. Concrete transforms and disintegrates socio-spatial worlds across time and scales. It derives its existence from the blasted landscapes caused by...

📚 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳: 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘔𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘮𝘢𝘳 by Céline Coderey.

A discussion with Dr Céline Coderey on her new book, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳: 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘔𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘮𝘢𝘳, exploring healing, medical pluralism, Buddhism, and marginality in Myanmar.

📅 8 Sep 2026 | 16:00–17:30 SGT
💻 Online via Zoom | 🎟️ Free admission

With commentaries by Assoc Prof Maitrii Aung-Thwin (NUS) and Assoc Prof Michael Stanley-Baker (NTU).

📝 Registration required.

Book Discussion on "The Power of Remainder: Politics and Poetics of Healing in Buddhist Myanmar" » Asia Research Institute, NUS CHAIRPERSON Dr Catherine Smith, University of New South Wales PROGRAMME 16:00 WELCOME REMARKS Dr Catherine Smith | University of New South Wales 16:05 BOOK SUMMARY BY AUTHOR Dr Céline Coderey | University of Hawai’i at Manoa 16:25 COMMENTARIES Assoc Prof Maitrii Aung-Thwin | National University o...

A growing number of residents claim no formal faith in Singapore, a country defined since birth by its religious and ethnic diversity - but 'Singaporean society is regionally “unique” for its religious diversity' says Erica Larson, senior research fellow in ARI's Religion & Globalisation cluster and 'being religiously unaffiliated was a “legitimate” option in the city state.'

“They may still participate in spiritual practices, but some are less involved in religious institutions and think of it less as membership.”

Are Singaporeans losing faith, or just dropping the labels? in the South China Morning Post:

Losing religion, not belief: Singapore’s fluid spiritual shift Formal religious affiliation has been slipping in the city state, but surveys show belief in a higher power endures.